3 Steps to Handle a Crisis Like a Fighter Pilot

By compartmentalizing and addressing a problem on a triage basis your business can emerge from disaster unscathed.




When I was born in 1970 my father was a flight surgeon with the U.S. Air Force. One of the lessons that has stayed with me from my father's experience in the Air Force is how fighter pilots are taught to deal with crisis. Why? Because it is a lesson that transcends survival in the air and can be used in every aspect of your life and business. When we are presented with a crisis situation, here are the steps that I always use to work my way through the problem.

1. Don't Panic
The first rule is often the most difficult to learn: never panic. This can take years of practice and often involves shifting or muting personality traits. When we panic our mind races. It becomes cloudy and rational decisions are harder to come by. Consequently, poor decisions, or even worse, no decisions at all, may be made. As such, you must teach yourself that with every challenge there either is, or is not, a solution and that you must calmly go through the following two steps to resolve the crisis.

2. Compartmentalize
Once you have identified what the problem is take time to segment out what could be the possible root causes and the potential solutions. Think broadly about everything that could be linked to the problem and have any causal effect on it. Then compartmentalize each one of those potential targets and begin the progression set forth below.

3. Analyze Progressively
Methodically search for a solution by progressively analyzing the potential compartmentalized issues. In short, be it a mental list you have created or a written list, go through each potential cause testing your hypothesis about each until a solution presents itself.

How does this work in application?
In 1972 one of my father's friends in his fighter wing was flying a mission over Northern Vietnam. During his mission his aircraft was severely damaged by enemy fire. As the wing turned and headed back to base his ability to control his aircraft was diminishing by the minute due to damage to his tail and, to make matters worse, one of his two engines was on fire threatening to ignite his main fuel tank thus ending his mission in a very abrupt and permanent fashion. If he ejected over Northern Vietnam he would be captured and sent to a prison camp, not something that was very appealing at the time.

So what did he do? First, per his training, he didn't panic. He could eject, but he hung on to compartmentalize his issues and progressively analyze his options. His goal was clear: get the aircraft to the demilitarized zone, or DMZ, so that when he ejected he could be recovered by friendlies and not by the Northern Vietnamese.

Second, he compartmentalized. His primary issues were 1) a loss of control of the aircraft by and through damage to the primary flight systems, 2) progressive loss of altitude due to the damage to one of his engines, and 3) the risk of the fire reaching his main fuel tank and the aircraft suffering a final and catastrophic failure prior to his being able to eject.

Third, he progressively analyzed his options and set a course of action. He had enough flight control remaining that he could at least nose the jet towards the DMZ. Then, in addressing the other two issues he powered down and cut fuel to the engine on fire in an effort to starve the flames long enough to buy him enough time to get to the DMZ.

Finally, he calculated his altitude loss rate quickly in his head against the distance to the DMZ and his crippled speed to determine that he could make it provided the jet did not erupt in flames prior to his objective bail out point.

So did it work? Fortunately, yes. He piloted the damaged aircraft, losing altitude all of the way, with almost no ability steer the same, to the DMZ. Moments after he crossed the line he pulled the lever on his seat ejecting him out of the cockpit and into the sky over Vietnam. As his parachute deployed and the shock of hitting the air alleviated he watched his plane burst into flames moments before it disappeared into the dense jungle below. He was picked up by friendlies and returned to base by the end of the day.

So how does this apply in business?
Many years ago I was sitting at the desk of one of my first companies. The lights began to flicker on my side of the office. No big deal I thought until the power to all of our computers began shutting down because of these intermittent power issues. To make matters worse, the flickering eventually turned into long blackout periods randomly occurring without warning. For every minute we were without power we were losing money. Eventually the periods became one long period as the lights went out and did not go back on. What could we do?

First, we didn't panic. We had to keep calm and figure out what was going on with an eye on getting power back as soon as possible so the company could function. Second, we compartmentalized our primary issues: 1) How do we get power to our office as quickly as possible? 2) How do we figure out what the problem actually is? 3) How do we solve it?

Next, we went through our progressive analysis to address the situation. We quickly noted that a neighboring floor, and all of the other floors in the building, had power. So while I went and explained the situation to our downstairs neighbors asking for a little help, another team was dispatched to Home Depot to buy numerous long extension cords. Within the hour we had re-powered our floor with temporary power borrowed by our neighbors by simply running the cords throughout the building.

Next, we needed to address the larger issue of figuring out why we had dropped power.  After consulting with three electricians, the power company, as well as the electrical equipment's manufacturers on the issue, the problem was finally discovered and repaired. It was simply a loose connection at the main breaker for our office in the power distribution room.

But by employing these three simple steps we had the power back on in our office within one hour. The larger fix took two weeks. If we would have panicked and lost focus a two-week inability to conduct business would probably have spelled the end of our company. But by compartmentalizing and addressing each issue on a triage basis our business barely missed a beat.

So the next time you have a crisis in your business just think, what would a fighter pilot do?

http://www.inc.com/matthew-swyers/3-steps-to-handle-a-crisis-like-a-fighter-pilot.html

8 Ways Managers Sabotage Themselves

These management strategies sound smart in theory--but tend to backfire in practice.

It's amusing to watch employees straight out of college (or from particularly large corporations) come to work at my company. They've had these "how to act at the office" lessons drilled into their brains, which may make great sense in theory, but they often backfire in practice.
Here are a few things that I've seen many managers do with the best intentions that can lead to unintended, damaging consequences:

1. Taking ownership
It's great to be responsible and conscientious. But no leader is going to be truly effective if she is stuck doing all the grunt work.  Let go, let go, let go. Delegate and give yourself the time you need to focus on the big picture stuff, like growing your employees and building important relationships.

2. Answering questions
As a leader, it's important to be available for ongoing guidance.  But many bosses do more harm than good by not encouraging a culture where employees self-evaluate and think for themselves. When employees need help, rather than just give them the answer, it's better to ask them to propose solutions. Then try to understand how they came up with those proposals. You'll learn how they think. Pretty soon, with some tweaks along the way, they automatically begin to ask themselves the right questions without feeling the need to come to my office for validation or simply to communicate they're "busy." Train your employees do their own thinking (and give them some leeway).

3. Awarding employees for doing what they're told
It's all too easy to condition your employees to stick to what's asked of them instead of rewarding them for keeping their eyes open to new opportunities and improvements. Reward them for initiative.

4. Striving for harmony
You might think a meeting without debate, where everyone gets along, is better. But let's face it: "yes" men and women are a hindrance to business success. And you know, some CEOs fall in this category too--trying all-too-hard not to rock the boat in the name of employee and board happiness. Teach your team how to connect over tension and how to grow from healthy and vigorous debate; harmony is not necessarily your company's best friend.

5. Using tried and true ROI analysis to judge success
No doubt you have very solid metrics you use to predict and evaluate your business success. But there are many situations that require entirely different ways of thinking. You must learn as you go--also known in business parlance as "discovery-driven growth."
For example, when you grow incrementally and organically, standard ROI and net present value calculations work well. But when you tackle new markets in which information is limited and execution risk is high, it is impossible to have enough data to do those calculations. So instead you must spend frugally, test, and investigate new opportunities, discovering new questions along the way. As these initiatives become more established, you can use more traditional metrics.


6. Providing constructive criticism
I'm adamantly against the "sandwich method" of feedback, where you layer criticisms with praise. I prefer candid feedback sessions focused on what was done well. Why? Picking apart an employee's performance isn't always helpful, no matter how constructive you're trying to be. I'll bet if you ask your employee what she thinks she could have done better, she'll know. Then you can coach.

7. Putting the brakes on a project
Stopping projects in mid-stream is sometimes the best decision you can make when things go off the rails. But so many times leaders make these decisions without telling others involved why or how the organization learned from their efforts and how that knowledge  will be used in other ways or in future projects.  Help your employees realize their work's value, even when a project must be scrapped. If not, you're certain to demoralize and adversely affect their future efforts.

8. Keeping strong employees in their sweet spots
Not allowing employees to move to another department within your company is one of the most destructive things you can do for employee morale and longevity. Just because an employee is an asset where they currently work doesn't mean it's the best seat on the bus for them. You may be strengthening a single department by pigeon-holing strong employees, but why not strengthen your entire company by letting these strong employees flex their skills? If you don't, they're apt to leave anyway.

What behaviors do you witness in your own company that are done with the best intentions but have negative consequences? Do you have any lessons we can learn from you?

http://www.inc.com/jay-steinfeld/8-ways-managers-sabotage-themselves.html

7 Reasons Why You're Not Getting Promoted

1. You Lack the Skills Necessary to do the Job
“Julie is very efficient and effective in the completion of her daily tasks. The position she was hoping to get, however, requires strong analytical skills she doesn’t have.”
One of the most common misconceptions employees have about promotion decisions is that they’re based solely on performance in their current role. While that’s certainly a consideration, success in one area doesn’t always translate to success in another. For instance, someone who excels at data entry may need additional education or training to become a data analyst, a job that requires strategic thinking and problem solving abilities.
The secret to getting ahead? Become familiar with the requirements of the job you want, and determine what skills you need to improve upon if you’re going to succeed in it. Then, talk to your boss. Let her know you’re interested in moving up, and ask for her advice on how to get there.

2. You Lack the Soft Skills Necessary to do the Job
“Pam is extremely accomplished, technically. Before we can promote her, though, we’d like for her to spend some time developing her leadership and teamwork skills.”
Here’s something else The Powers That Be (TPTB) don’t tell you up front: These skills aren’t always technical. Particularly if you’re moving up to management, you’ll need to have mastered some soft skills—like conflict negotiation, diplomacy, and business communication—and coming up short might very well be a deal breaker.
Develop the soft skills you’ll need to succeed in the job you want, then highlight them through your involvement in programs that are important (and visible) to TBTP. Perhaps you can become an informal mentor to a newer employee, or volunteer to lead a presentation or training. Whichever method you choose, you’ll be signaling to your boss that you’re ready for management.

3. You Don’t Take Feedback
“I’ve really tried to develop Mary, to get her ready for a promotion. But she gets very defensive when I give her constructive feedback. I feel like she spends more time trying to prove me wrong than she does trying to improve.”
I doubt there is a woman among us that hasn’t struggled to keep her composure when receiving “constructive” criticism. But remember—feedback is not always a bad thing. Is it possible that your boss has some valid points? She’s telling you how to improve your performance—and this is good information to have when you’re gunning for a promotion.
When you receive feedback, whether in your review or in the hallway, resist the urge to defend yourself. Try to take it in and see what you can learn from it, instead.

4. You Lack Professionalism
“What frustrates me more than anything else is employees who are consistently negative about the company. What they don’t understand is, the things they say—they get back to us. Why would we promote anyone who behaves like that?”
It’s not unreasonable to expect that, as you move up the career ladder, you’ll begin to conduct yourself more professionally—and not just when the boss is looking. This came up several times in different contexts—from an inability to maintain confidentiality to participation in office gossip—and was identified by executives as the most difficult challenge for employees to overcome.
This may seem obvious, but how you behave in the company of co-workers is just as important, if not more so, as how you behave around management. For example, you can and should identify problems within your department and company, but you should not pontificate about those problems in the break room—which gives the impression that you’re looking for an audience, instead of a solution.

5. You Don’t Take Initiative
“Jennifer is quick to recognize areas that could use improvement, but we can’t get her to go beyond lodging the complaint. We’d really like to see her take the initiative to come up with solutions, not just expect everything to be fixed by management.”
Becoming a problem solver shows that you care—not only about your own career, but about the long-term health of the business as well. Don’t just document the problems you see, analyze the issues and find ways to get involved in developing the solutions. Collaborating with others to create positive change will identify you as a leader in your organization. Remember, anyone can drop a complaint into the suggestion box.

6. You Think Like an Employee—Not a Manager
“Craig is good at his job, but it seems like he’s more committed to getting on the freeway by 10 ’til than he is to the success of his department.”
Remember, TPTB are anointing future leaders here. If you’re giving them the impression you’re only showing up for a paycheck, it’s not likely that you’ll be high on their list of candidates. No, you don’t have to become a workaholic or start hanging out long past five or six just to “be seen,” but it’s a good idea to express interest in the things that happen when the meter isn’t running.

7. You Expect It
“Sean has made it clear that he expects to be promoted. The problem is, I feel like he expects to be promoted based on only his length of service. There are others on his team that are more focused on their career development, and even though they’ve not been here as long, it’s likely that they will be promoted before him.”
Lastly, recognize that in today’s environment, tenure is no longer the primary factor in promotion decisions, and is best left out of any arguments you might make on your own behalf. These days, it doesn’t matter whether you’ve been there six months or six years—it’s all about your contribution.
Being passed over for a promotion doesn’t need to be the end of the world. In fact, it can be a huge learning opportunity—and sometimes, it can also be just the kick in the pants you need to get you started down the right path. So take these lessons, learn from the past, and keep that promotion in your sights.

http://www.businessinsider.com/7-reasons-why-youre-not-getting-promoted-2013-5

Turn a Good Worker Into a Great Manager: 6 Steps

It's noble to promote from within, but irresponsible if it's without preparation. Here's what you should do.


I'm sure this is familiar. You have a great employee, who does strong work, and is ready for more responsibility. So you make him or her a supervisor, manager, or leader of others, and you're happy you did. "Congratulations, you're now a manager," you say, with all sincerity.

But then, you live to regret it. And you realize, it wasn't that the individual did something wrong. You're the one who forgot something: to help lay the foundation for that newly-crowned supervisor to succeed. You didn't train him or her to become a manager.

I remember a number of years ago when my team and I were looking for supervisors for Beryl's call center. Naturally, I thought, we found people who had been great at answering phones and handling customers, and so we promoted them into the new advisor positions. A couple of years later, when productivity was suffering, I heard a common refrain from senior leaders: the problem lay in the call-center supervisors. They thought I should get rid of the existing group, and start fresh.

While a new group sure sounded good, I knew that wasn't the answer. The supervisors weren't the problem; it was me. I failed to give those promoted employees the tools and training they needed to be successful. Rather than looking at them, I needed to look in the mirror, and so did the whole senior leadership team. So I challenged leadership to invest the necessary time and energy to give the call-center supervisors the training they needed--and we got great results.

It's noble to try to "promote from within," but irresponsible to promote without preparation. In some cases, you may not have the resources available to train your next leaders, and when that happens, it may of course be necessary to look outside. Or maybe you hire someone who can train your next generation of leaders.

If you're going to commit to advancing the careers of your best workers, and one of those opportunities moves them into a leadership position for the first time, always do the following:

• Give them a mentor for a period of time.
• Invest in either internal or external training.
• Guide them in how to be an example to others.
• Teach the difference between management and leadership.
• Check in often to help them with  new issues they'll deal with.
• Make sure they enjoy the new role.

Remember middle managers or supervisors have tremendous influence, and you can't underestimate the importance of their roles. Equip and empower the employees you promote, and it will pay big dividends down the road.

http://www.inc.com/paul-spiegelman/turn-good-workers-into-great-managers.html

Neurotic Introverts Are the Best Team Players

They might have social anxiety, but they contribute more to group projects than the office extroverts.

Social anxiety. Emotional volatility. Withdrawal.

These may not be the characteristics you typically associate with effective employees, but new research from UCLA suggests that neurotic people are actually more valuable on team projects than the flashy extroverts.

What’s this mean for managers? You’re probably under-using the introverted, neurotic staff members, when you should, in fact, be maximizing their potential on group projects.

The researchers conducted two separate studies--one that surveyed MBA students' behavior and another that noted employee behavior towards the two personality types.

The findings? Qualities that make extroverts seem like strong workers, such as their assertiveness and dominance, raise team members’ expectations of them.

Extroverts in the study were also more likely to be poor listeners and indifferent to input from other team members. Ultimately, over the 10-week period, this tension caused extroverts to disappoint their groups and underwhelm their peers’ expectations.

Rising to the occasion were the neurotic group members. Neurotics’ personalities are the kind that get highly engaged with tasks, researchers said, leaving them to gain status among the group members by surpassing their low expectations.

http://www.inc.com/sonya-chudgar/neurotic-introverts-are-your-top-team-members.html

10 Things Really Amazing Employees Do

Here are ten traits that any great employer should recognize and reward instantly.

As a longtime employer of dozens, I was always grateful to have good employees. It takes a lot to recruit and maintain top talent. Every once in a while special employees come along that just really seem to get it. They drive the entire company forward in ways that were unimaginable. Advancement and reward is never an issue for these rock stars because they understand the power of cause and effect, and only a worthy company can retain them and afford them.

Here are 10 things amazing employees seem to do effortlessly. Here's how to help your great employees be even more amazing.

1. Enthusiastically Learn All Aspects of Business
They understand they're part of something bigger and more worthwhile than just their job. They look to learn other areas of the business and be fluent in finance and management so they'll positively impact multiple areas of the company.
What you can do: Invest in material and seminars on business basics like accounting, marketing, and management so all employees have easy access to learn and grow.

2. Steward the Company
They treat the company as if it were theirs. They look to make prudent decisions about expenses and opportunities with the long-term future of the company in mind. They easily assess risk vs. reward, selflessly when making decisions.
What you can do: Be transparent in your business. The more you share your financials and philosophy, the easier it is for employees to make the right decisions.

3. Generate Viable Opportunities
You don't have to be in sales or marketing to help a company grow. Strong networkers from all divisions see company growth as a collective effort and constantly keep their eyes open for ways to more than pay for themselves.
What you can do: Make sure all your employees understand your value proposition and can easily identify opportunities. Then reward them openly for their efforts.

4. Resolve Issues Before They Are Issues
My favorite days running companies are when I notice positive change in procedure when I was totally unaware of the need for change. Amazing employees are always looking to improve systems proactively, and they do.
What you can do: Communicate a clear written vision of where the company is going and encourage initiative so people feel safe and empowered to make change.

5. Tell It Like It Is
Amazing employees understand that hiding bad news helps no one. They find kind ways to bring uncomfortable information to the surface, but they DO bring it to the surface. They tell people what's necessary before major damage is done.
What you can do: Foster an open communication environment where people are not only given permission to tell the truth, but also absolutely required.

6. Demonstrate High Standards, With Low Maintenance
I always feel relaxed when I can trust an employee to perform a task to the same high standards I would expect from myself. Not all can do this without constant attention or difficulty. Amazing employees quietly drive their own high standards.
What you can do: Set the example and the tone for high performance with minimal drama. Publicly reward those who can execute in the same manner.

7. Grow Themselves, and Others
They not only drive their own career but they inspire others to do the same. These employees lead by example in how to advance without creating animosity or resentment. They see and create their perfect future, and also bring others along.
What you can do: Encourage personal development and peer growth through dedicated group time and learning for career advancement.

8. Research, Apply, and Refine
No employer expects people to know everything. In this fast changing world, I choose employees who will learn over those who know. The best employee proactively explores options, takes action and then improves without direction from the top.

What you can do: Invest time in exploration and expansive thinking. Encourage people to explore deep visionary projects with time and reward for the findings.

9. Stimulate Happiness
Amazing employees aren't always sunshine and roses. They do know how to keep it real. But they understand the dynamics of people, stress, and the blend of work, life and friendship. They are self-aware and able to direct their own path that brings out their best with family, friends and career. They exude positive energy even in stressful times and share it around, making for a happier office.
What you can do: Create an environment where people can openly express themselves. Encourage them to work hard in fulfilling ways and achieve their dreams.

10. Facilitate Amazing Bosses
Amazing employees make me grow as an employer. They self-confidently get their value and help me get mine. They make me want to be worthy of working with somebody of such high caliber, without ever saying it directly of course.
What you can do: Make effort to genuinely show appreciation for any of the behaviors above so people feel their value and will grow to full potential. Then they will do the same for you. 

http://www.inc.com/kevin-daum/10-things-really-amazing-employees-do.html?nav=pop

What a 14-Year-Old Can Teach You About Management

Six business lessons an entrepreneur gleaned from her daughter's first job.

My daughter Lily is fourteen. Over the holidays, she had her her first job. She was employed as a Christmas elf in Santa's grotto at our local farm shop. She is studying business at school but she learned a lot more on the job.

So I asked what she'd learned after three weekends of solid elfing:

1. People need to know what you offer.
Her grotto was a little hidden and even I, looking for it, thought it was hard to find. She told her boss they needed a bigger sign, which they got the next weekend. Children piled in.

2. It's more fun being busy.
No matter how thrilling or dull a job, it is always more fun being busy than sitting around. If you have employees who aren't busy, find something for them to do. Down time breeds discontent.

3. Colleagues make or break the experience.
Her last day, Lily had a bad cold and didn't feel like working. I did not suggest she stay home; I just asked if she was up to it. She bridled, insisting that, however she felt, she couldn't let Ross--the Santa Claus--down. She'd instantly absorbed the fact that people in a business aren't loyal to the company but to each other.

4. It's more fun doing a great job.

Over time, my daughter got better at her job and, as she did, she said she enjoyed it more. "Now I think about ways to keep the kids entertained," she said. "They can't spend more--it's a fixed price--but it's more fun when the customers are happy."

5. Money you earn is different from the money you're given.
Receiving her first pay packet was a great moment for Lily. She's about to go on a school trip to Russia. Is she planning to spend all her earnings there? "No!" she insisted. "I'm saving that money; I earned it."

Lily's first job has been a lot more positive than mine was. I worked, at the age of 16, as a receptionist for a psychotherapist who could never explain what he wanted. He fired me after two weekends. Lily's been lucky to have a great boss and good co-workers.

Watching her also reminded me that most people do want to do a great job. If they aren't excellent, it might not be their fault.

http://www.inc.com/margaret-heffernan/management-observations-of-first-time-employee.html

Want Smarter Employees? Quiz Them

The act of taking a test actually helps you learn. It's one more tool to help your employees be the best they can be.

Your teachers who used to torment you with pop quizzes and complex final exams weren't just trying to torture you. (Okay, maybe some were.) They wanted to see what you had learned, in order to know what help you needed in order to master the material. (I may be overly optimistic when it comes to teachers.) But, we've known for years that the act of actually taking the test--recalling information--actually helps you learn. It's not just the studying for the test that helps you, the test-taking itself cements the information.

Turns out that this is just as valid for adults in the office as it is for children in school, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association. People in the study performed better on a final exam when they had taken a test previously, when compared with those people who just studied the material.

So, what does this mean for your business? Well, you probably don't want to break out the No. 2 pencils quite yet. Your employees may not be thrilled to have to take tests. And giving them frequent tests may just result in a super high level of turnover. But when new information needs to be learned by your staff, a test may be just the way to cement their knowledge--not just proof that they were listening in the first place.

For instance, if there are regulations that are critical for your employees to know, give them the material to study and then give them a test on it. The test needs to be difficult enough that their brain actually has to work to pull up the new information. Tests that people can pass without actually learning anything new are a waste of time for everyone.

Or, if you are running your whole company through sexual harassment training, consider giving them a real test three or four days after the presentation. Not only will you see what they learned in the training, they'll remember the information better for the future.

You can also do self-testing as you learn new skills. Things change constantly, and if you want to be on top of things, learning about a new topic and then taking a test on it may just well help you master that information.

Testing may increase the knowledge base of your employees. And that is something that can help you succeed.

http://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/want-smarter-employees-quiz-them.html

The Deadly Cost of a B-Player

Here's how mediocre employees can take down a business. Don't let it happen to you.

I recently attended VatorSplash here in San Francisco, and I had the fortune of listening to Renaud Laplanche, CEO of Lending Club speak about a variety of topics. The one that struck me most wasn't about innovation (which is one thing Vator is all about) it was about hiring. My ears perked up.

There's no shortage of information about hiring on Inc.com; Tony Hsieh let us in on the hiring snafus at Zappos. So I'll add this article to the list because it seems so obvious but it's not. It's about how a B-player can ruin your business, or at least take years away from where your business "should be."

Renaud laid it out simply: when you hire a B-player, they'll do an okay job and there's not really a reason to fire them. But B-players can do a few damaging things to your business:

1. They'll either hire mediocre people just like them or even worse, C-players, making an increasingly larger portion of your business run by them.
2. Your A-players will leave because they don't want to work on a mediocre team and they get sick of the general feeling of not being able to get things done.

You've got to nip your B-players in the bud. Either get them to "A" status by coaching and mentoring them, or cut them loose. You don't want to look back and think about where your business "could have" been.

How have you dealt with B-players on your team? I'd love to hear your challenges and successes.

http://www.inc.com/janine-popick/the-deadly-cost-of-a-b-player.html

8 Most Common Complaints About the Boss

What are you doing that really drives your employees crazy? You might want to give this list a close read.

Two facts of professional life:

1. Every employee has a boss, and
2. Every employee has at least one complaint about his or her boss, including, unfortunately, you.

What are you doing that really drives your employees crazy? You might want to give this list a close read.

So I asked Jim Hessler and Steve Motenko, leadership coaches and hosts of The Boss Show (a podcast "for anyone who is or has a boss") to list the most common complaints employees have about their bosses.

Why these guys? Their list is based on thousands of confidential discussions with employees and bosses.
They hear things your employees will never tell you.

The good news? Their list contains no real surprises.

The bad news? Their list contains no real surprises--meaning, most employees have the same issues with their bosses.

The great news? If you deal with the issues below, you'll immediately stand out as a great boss--and your business will be seen as a much better place to work.

Here's the list. My boss:

1. Micromanages me
2. Doesn't listen
3. Doesn't want to have his/her opinions and ideas challenged
4. Doesn't follow through on promises
5. Assigns deadlines without considering what's on my plate
6. Doesn't have time for me
7. Doesn't give helpful feedback about my performance
8. Is disorganized and reactive

"It's remarkable how many of the issues that come up on the show, including guest interviews," Hessler says, "end up with us asking same question: 'So, have you talked about this issue with your boss/employee?' We are continually amazed how many important things don't get talked about in the workplace."

According to Hessler, The Boss Show provides a constant reminder that even in a hierarchical relationship, leadership is a two-way street. Rather than regarding disgruntled workers as "victims" of their bosses' incompetence or disengagement, he and Motenko often highlight the employee's responsibility for making things better.

"Ranking on the lower level of the professional totem pole seems to make a lot of people passive," Motenko says, "or perhaps they are there because they are passive."

So what can you do? Take a look at the list. Take a hard look at the list. How many items apply to you--even if not consistently but only occasionally?

Then get to work. If you believe your employees are your most important assets--and you should--start treating them with the consideration and respect they deserve.

http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/8-most-common-complaints-employees-have-about-their-boss.html

Want to Change the World? Be Resilient.

What's the difference between someone with a good idea and a person who can transform their ideas into real impact? To tackle the world's biggest problems, we need to be able to identify and support the people who are capable of creating lasting change. At Acumen Fund, we spend a lot of time trying to find and train aspiring and established leaders from around the world who have the right mix of talent, ideas, and passion.
And what we've found time and again is: Resilience matters most.
 
Resilient leaders have three key characteristics:

1. Grit: Short-term focus on tasks at hand, a willingness to slog through broken systems with limited resources, and pragmatic problem-solving skills.
2. Courage: Action in the face of fear and embracing the unknown.
3. Commitment: Long-term optimism and focus on big-picture goals.

I see these qualities in the Global Fellows who are selected to work with Acumen's investee companies across Africa and South Asia during a 12-month fellowship. These individuals bring exceptional skills and business expertise to their work. But that is not enough. It's their ability to dig deep, roll up their sleeves and immerse themselves in the unglamorous trenches of seemingly intractable problems while remaining focused on long-term goals that allows them to buck the status quo and deliver meaningful change.

Grit: Natalie Grillon, a former Peace Corps volunteer and recent MBA graduate, embodies grit. She's working in a remote area of war-torn Northern Uganda to develop an organic sesame business as part of Gulu Agricultural Development Company, which provides more than 40,000 smallholder farmers with access to international markets.

Overseeing a staff of 35 and a network of 50 buyers, Natalie wakes up each day determined to grow the business by training more farmers and improving their product quality. Some days she's holed up analyzing financials and others she's loading trucks for shipment. She has to be both an empathetic listener and stern director, often at the cost of not always being "liked" — a tradeoff she's accepted. She works 12-14 hours seven days a week and pushes through daily challenges and physical fatigue.

The sesame business is new to this part of Uganda and is already increasing the yields of more than 10,000 farmers, providing them with new income that can go to school fees or production tools. Farmers, who until recently lived in IDP-camps, now live lives of freedom, dignity and choice. For Natalie, the unrelenting pace of work and many headaches are worth it.

Courage: I recently visited with current fellow Jay Jaboneta, a social entrepreneur from the Philippines who is embracing the unknown in Pakistan. He's working with Pharmagen Healthcare Limited, a water-supply company that provides up to two million liters of clean, affordable water each month to low-income customers through water purification shops in Lahore.

By design, fellows are often pushed out of their comfort zone — required to live and work in regions or sectors that are unfamiliar. This was the case with Jay and, prior to his arrival in Pakistan, he was admittedly anxious about his safety as a foreigner in Lahore, his ability to integrate into a new culture without speaking the language, and stepping into a role that required him to learn how to market water products to BOP customers.

Jay has been able to excel in an environment filled with unknowns. He's currently launching a rebranding and marketing campaign to make clean water more accessible to low income consumers. Now part of the community, he's also learning Urdu one phrase at a time and speaks of dear friends and the doodh pati chai he's learned to make with them.

Commitment: Abbas Akhtar, an entrepreneur and software engineer originally from Pakistan, is fulfilling a promise he made to himself long ago: to return to Pakistan, after years in the US, and contribute to the country's long-term development. Abbas now works at Ansaar Management Company (AMC), a low-cost housing and management company that provides affordable housing to more than 30,000 people outside of Lahore.

Equipped with several years work experience at Apple, Google and an advanced degree from Johns Hopkins, Abbas could choose from any number of developed markets in which to live and work. But he chose his country of origin to fulfill his personal commitment. He readily admits it hasn't been easy to adjust to the frequent power outages, cold days and nights without reliable heat, and long road trips between projects, but he's more committed than ever to apply all that he can to AMC this year and Pakistan for years to come. And his commitment is already contributing to the growth and sustainability of AMC with the potential launch of two new community sites, which could provide 200 new homes to 1,000 BOP-customers.

While still early in their careers, Natalie, Jay, and Abbas exemplify the resilience it takes to drive lasting change on the ground. Above all, their experiences highlight not only what's needed to build new systems, but also, what's needed most to be a social impact leader.

And resilience can be trained. At Acumen, we focus on building not only the fellows' financial and operational skills, but also what we call "moral imagination", which requires balancing opposing values — humility and audacity — to see the world as it is and to imagine the world for what it could be. During their two-month training in New York, fellows spend time in the shoes of low-income customers accessing goods and services, honing their empathy skills; they prototype human-centered design projects with IDEO.org and create business model canvases, building strong listening skills to understand customers' needs. They develop deep self-awareness by challenging their perceptions about leadership and authority by using Cambridge Leadership Associates' Adaptive Leadership framework. Fellows draw on these experiential exercises to strengthen their resolve when facing challenges on the ground.

Too often we confuse management skills with leadership. We need to remain focused on building leaders who have the resilience to face stubborn problems head on for lasting social impact. The more we collectively define what it takes, the better we'll be able to identify and train this next generation.

 http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/02/want_to_change_the_world_be_resilient.html

9 Hidden Qualities of Stellar Bosses

What your employees see you doing matters. But often it's what they can't see that matters more.
 
Good bosses look good on paper. Great bosses look great in person; their actions show their value.
Yet some bosses go even farther. They're remarkable--not because of what you see them do but what you don't see them do.

Where remarkable bosses are concerned, what you see is far from all you get:

They forgive... and they forget.
When an employee makes a mistake--especially a major mistake--it's easy to forever view that employee through the perspective of that mistake.

I know. I've done it.

But one mistake, or one weakness, is just one part of the whole person.
Great bosses are able to step back, set aside a mistake, and think about the whole employee.
Remarkable bosses are also able to forget that mistake, because they know that viewing any employee through the lens of one incident may forever impact how they treat that employee.

And they know the employee will be able to tell.

To forgive may be divine, but to forget can be even more divine.

They transform company goals into the employees' personal goals.
Great bosses inspire their employees to achieve company goals.

Remarkable bosses make their employees feel that what they do will benefit them as much as it does the company. After all, whom will you work harder for: A company or yourself?

Whether they get professional development, an opportunity to grow, a chance to shine, a chance to flex their favorite business muscles, employees who feel a sense of personal purpose almost always outperform employees who feel a sense of company purpose.

And they have a lot more fun doing it.

Remarkable bosses know their employees well enough to tap the personal, not just the professional.

They look past the action to the emotion and motivation.
Sometimes employees make mistakes or simply do the wrong thing. Sometimes they take over projects or roles without approval or justification. Sometimes they jockey for position, play political games, or ignore company objectives in pursuit of personal goals.

When that happens it's easy to assume they don't listen or don't care. But almost always there's a deeper reason: They feel stifled, they feel they have no control, they feel marginalized or frustrated--or maybe they are just trying to find a sense of meaning in their work that pay rates and titles can never provide.
Effective bosses deal with actions. Remarkable bosses search for the underlying issues that, when overcome, lead to much bigger change for the better.

They support without seeking credit.
A customer is upset. A vendor feels shortchanged. A coworker is frustrated. Whatever the issue, good bosses support their employees. They know that to do otherwise undermines the employee's credibility and possibly authority.

Afterword, most bosses will say to the employee, "Listen, I took up for you, but..."
Remarkable bosses don't say anything. They feel supporting their employees--even if that shines a negative spotlight on themselves--is the right thing to do and is therefore unremarkable.

Even though we all know it isn't.

They make fewer public decisions.
When a decision needs to be made, most of the time the best person to make that decision isn't the boss. Most of the time the best person is the employee closest to the issue.

Decisiveness is a quality of a good boss. Remarkable bosses can be decisive but often in a different way: They decide they aren't the right person and then decide who is the right person.

They do it not because they don't want to avoid making those decisions but because they know they shouldn't make those decisions.

They don't see control as a reward.
Many people desperately want to be the boss so they can finally call the shots.

Remarkable bosses don't care about control. As a result they aren't seen to exercise control.

They're seen as a person who helps.

They allow employees to learn their own lessons.
It's easy for a boss to debrief an employee and turn a teachable moment into a lesson learned.

It's a lot harder to let employees learn their own lessons, even though the lessons we learn on our own are the lessons we remember forever.

Remarkable bosses don't scold or dictate; they work together with an employee to figure out what happened and what to do to correct the mistake.

They help find a better way, not a disciplinary way.

Great employees don't need to be scolded or reprimanded. They know what they did wrong.
Sometimes staying silent is the best way to ensure they remember.

They let employees have the ideas.
Years ago I worked in manufacturing and my boss sent me to help move the production control offices. It was basically manual labor, but for two days it put me in a position to watch and hear and learn a lot about how the plant's production flow was controlled.

I found it fascinating and later I asked my boss if I could be trained to fill in as a production clerk. Those two days sparked a lifelong interest in productivity and process improvement.

Years later he admitted he sent me to help move their furniture. "I knew you'd go in there with your eyes wide open," he said, "and once you got a little taste I knew you'd love it."

Remarkable bosses see the potential in their employees and find ways to let them have the ideas, even though the outcome was what they intended all along.

They always go home feeling they could have done better.
Leadership is like a smorgasbord of insecurity. Bosses worry about employees and customers and results. You name it, they worry about it.

That's why remarkable bosses go home every day feeling they could have done things a little better or smarter. They wish they had treated employees with a little more sensitivity or empathy.

Most importantly, they always go home feeling they could have done more to fulfill the trust their employees place in them.

And that's why, although you can't see it, when they walk in the door every day remarkable bosses make a silent commitment to do their jobs even better than they did yesterday.

And then they do.

http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/9-hidden-qualities-of-remarkable-bosses-mon.html

How to Allocate Your Time, and Your Effort

How does he find time to meet with 10 customers a week and make his yearly quota in the first quarter?, a salesman wonders about his top producing coworker. I can barely find time to have five appointments a week and get all my paperwork done correctly and turned in on time. 

How does she manage to champion strategic initiatives, network with executives, and only work 40 hours a week?, a manager ponders about his colleague on the corporate fast track. After a day full of project meetings, the best I can do is reactively respond to e-mail at night instead of proactively developing my department.

Here's the secret: Your colleagues that zoom ahead of you with seemingly less effort have learned to recognize and excel in what really counts — and to aim for less than perfect in everything else.

Most likely the highest producing salesman on your team spends less than half the amount of time that you do on filling out paperwork. Yes, it may be sloppy, but no one really cares because he's skyrocketing the revenue numbers. The manager who has caught the eye of upper management may send e-mails with imperfect grammatical structure and decline invites to tactical meetings. But when a project or meeting really matters, she outshines everyone.

If you're shocked and feel like this seems completely unfair, I'm guessing that you probably performed very well in school where perfectionism is encouraged.

I know. I was a straight-A student from sixth grade through college graduation who did whatever it took to produce work at a level that would please my professors. Admittedly, this strategy paid off as a student. My perfect GPA signified an exceptional level of achievement, and I was fortunate that in my case, it was rewarded with scholarships and job offers.

The rules changed when I started my own business over seven years ago. I realized that doing A-work in everything limited my success. At that point I realized that I needed to focus more on my strengths. As Tom Rath wisely explains in his StrengthsFinder books, you can achieve more success by fully leveraging your strengths instead of constantly trying to shore up your weaknesses. Realizing the importance of purposely deciding where I will invest more time and energy to produce stellar quality work and where less-than-perfect execution has a bigger payoff has had a profound impact on my own approach to success and my ability to empower clients who feel overwhelmed.

As I talk with time coaching clients struggling with overwhelm whether they be professors, executives, or lawyers, a common theme comes up — they can't find time to do everything. And, they're right: no one has time for everything. Given the pace of work and the level of input in modern society, time management is dead. You can no longer fit everything in — no matter how efficient you become. (This conundrum is what inspired me to write a book on time investment).

In my time investment philosophy, I encourage individuals to see time as the limited resource it is and to allocate it in alignment with their personal definition of success. That leads to a number of practical ramifications:

• Decide where you will not spend time: Given that you have a limited time budget, you will not have the ability to do everything you would like to do regardless of your efficiency. The moment you embrace that truth, you instantly reduce your stress and feelings of inadequacy. For example, professionally this could look like reducing your involvement in committees, and personally this could look like hiring someone else to do lawn maintenance or finish up a house project.
• Strategically allocate your time: Boundaries on how and when you invest time in work and in your personal life help to ensure that you have the proper investment in each category. As a time coach, I see one of the most compelling reasons for not working extremely long hours is that this investment of time resources leaves you with insufficient funds for activities like exercise, sleep, and relationships.
• Set up automatic time investment: Just like you set up automatic financial investment to mutual funds in your retirement account, your daily and weekly routines should make your time investment close to automatic. For example, at work you could have a recurring appointment with yourself two afternoons a week to move forward on key projects, and outside of work you could sign up for a fitness boot camp where you would feel bad if you didn't show up and sweat three times a week.
• Aim for a consistently balanced time budget: Given the ebbs and flows of life, you can't expect that you will have a constantly balanced time budget but you can aim for having a consistently balanced one. Over the course of a one- to two-week period, your time investment should reflect your priorities.

Once you have allocated your time properly, you also need to approach the work within each category differently. As I explained above, trying to "get As in everything" keeps you from investing the maximum amount of time in what will bring the highest return on your investment. That's why I developed the INO Technique to help overcome perfectionism and misallocation of your 24/7. Here's how it works:

When you approach a to-do item, you want to consider whether it is an investment, neutral, or optimize activity. Investment activities are areas where an increased amount of time and a higher quality of work can lead to an exponential payoff. For instance, strategic planning is an investment activity; so is spending time, device-free, with the people you love. Aim for A-level work in these areas. Neutral activities just need to get done adequately; more time doesn't necessarily mean a significantly larger payoff. An example might be attending project meetings or going to the gym. These things need to get done, but you can aim for B-level work. Optimize activities are those for which additional time spent leads to no added value and keeps you from doing other, more valuable activities. Aim for C-level work in these — the faster you get them done, the better. Most basic administrative paperwork and errands fit into this category.

The overall goal is to minimize the time spent on optimize activities so that you can maximize your time spent on investment activities. I've found that this technique allows you to overcome perfectionist tendencies and invest in more of what actually matters so you can increase your effectiveness personally and professionally.
On a tactical level, here are a few tips on how you can put the INO Technique into action:

• At the start of each week, clearly define the most important investment activities and block out time on your calendar to complete them early in the week and early in your days. This will naturally force you to do everything else in the time that remains.


• When you look over your daily to-do list, put an "I," "N," or "O" beside each item and then allocate your time budget accordingly, such as four hours for the "I" activity, three hours for the "N" activities, and one hour for the "O" activities.


• If you start working on something and realize that it's taking longer than expected, ask yourself, "What's the value and/or opportunity cost in spending more time on this task?" If it's an I activity and the value is high, keep at it and take time away from your N and O activities. If it falls into the N category and there's little added value or the O category and spending more time keeps you from doing more important items, either get it done to the minimum level, delegate it, or stop and finish it later when you have more spare time.


• If you keep a time diary or mark the time you spent on your calendar, you can also look back over each week and determine if you allocated your time correctly to maximize the payoff on your time investment. 

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/01/how_to_allocate_your_time_and.html

Can You Manage and Lead?

As an academic I love dichotomies. They stretch the imagination, help us avoid subtlety, and enhance focused debate.

The problem with dichotomies, however fun, is that they are overt and sometimes misleading oversimplifications. But in the real world tidy constructs become messes, and dichotomies become continuums. The real question is: Where are you on the continuum?

And the answer is: It depends on the situation. You may be a transactional leader one day and a transformative leader the next. You may be internally directed one day and externally directed a week from Tuesday.

And then there is what I consider to be the ultimate knee-jerk dichotomy:

Are you a manager or a leader?
I understand how we in academia can afford this little luxury. It’s aesthetically pleasing and makes for a clean little world. What amazes me is that this particular dichotomy is often given quite a bit of credence out in the real world.

In reference to a particular open position, one HR director told me, “We’re looking for a leader.” On the same day, in the same organization, referring to the same position, another HR officer told me, “What we’re looking for is a manager.”

Many times I’ve heard chief learning officers talk about their organization’s training needs and use the distinction of not needing a “leadership training program” but instead needing a “managerial training program”-;or the inverse!

The confusion between “leadership” and “managerial” training programs becomes more apparent when dealing with high potential employees.  High potentials clearly have the necessary technical skills and background in the business, but what do they need once they are given responsibility for others? Leadership skills or managerial skills?

They need both. They need to be leaders who can manage, and managers who can lead. The knee-jerk dichotomy has to end.

The ideal is for leaders and managers to be able to inspire others and implement ideas; innovate and create; and figure out how to manage the process of maneuvering from ideas to results.

The very notion that this knee-jerk dichotomy continues to have currency in a world that demands agile, flexible, and solution-based companies-;and in a world where these companies want to retain talent and stimulate commitment-;is perplexing.

This dichotomy between leading and managing is an indulgence in simplicity that we can no longer afford, especially when organizations are evaluating what core competencies they need their high potentials to develop as they move ahead.

The lesson is to train your managers to lead and your leaders to manage.

 http://www.inc.com/sam-bacharach/are-you-a-leader-or-manager.html

Top 5 Skills Every Leader Must Have

A few years ago, I saw a video by a Harvard professor on competences for adapting to a changing world. Frankly, it was embarrassing. It was the biggest load of pseudo-intellectual garbage I’d ever heard.
Still, the world is changing. It’s becoming a more complex place. I guess that’s always been the case, but the rate of change appears to be accelerating. Given that’s the case, then what are the real capabilities will people need to distinguish themselves--to become the leaders, the innovators, the success stories of a new age?

Fortunately, as a veteran of the high-tech industry, I’ve known and worked with some of the most capable and accomplished folks around. Here are five competences that not only set them apart, but are becoming more and more important all the time. No, they’re not new-age business school jargon. Some aren’t even new. But what’s important is that they work.

1. Drown out the noise.
We live and work in a world that’s so overloaded with information, communication, and gadgets that fighting that irresistible and constant tug to text, tweet, and check our email is becoming harder and harder all the time. That trend is not likely to change anytime soon.
Ability to focus and prioritize has always been critical to success in just about any field, but these days, managing distraction and not succumbing to its addictive qualities has become remarkably challenging for even the most disciplined among us.
Make no mistake. If you can’t focus, you can’t get things done. And if you can’t get things done, somebody else will.

2. Recognize the bullsh*t.
When you question assumptions, claims, and viewpoints instead of just accepting them as gospel, as in "I saw it on the internet so it must be true," that's called critical thinking. It’s fundamental for smart decision-making. And that, in turn, is key to being successful at just about anything.
The concept dates back thousands of years to Socrates and Buddha's teachings. If you question conventional wisdom, challenge the status quo, and avoid collectivism and groupthink, you’re in good company. They’re all facets of the same concept.
Here’s the thing. There’s so much garbage out there in the cloud, in social media, in blogs, on TV, in self-help books -- you name it -- that your ability to question what’s real and what isn’t, to reason logically and not generalize from a single data point, is more critical today than ever before.
And, in time, the world is only going to become more and more complex and, that’s right, full of stuff.  

3. Be more than an avatar. 
It’s ironic that, with all the hoopla over personal branding, self-expression, and the “Me” generation, I find that people are becoming more and more like internet avatars every day. In other words, there’s a tendency to hide behind our own social media creations. To become sound bites personified.
More than ever, we need a sense of humility and self-awareness to remind us that we're flesh and blood humans. That we’re not always the insanely great business leaders, managers, entrepreneurs, partners, parents, whatever, that we hold ourselves out to be.
Not only that, but the sheer volume of noise and time we waste on mindless distraction makes it that much harder to stay in touch with ourselves, to be quiet and reflect on what’s going on inside, to understand what our emotions are trying to tell us.
And don’t even get me started on political correctness, that insidious worldwide trend that dumbs us all down to the lowest common denominator so no single individual is ever left out or made to feel uncomfortable or, God forbid, offended.
In a world of indistinguishable lemmings, where everyone tries to be different and, in so doing, ends up behaving exactly like everyone else, those who are genuine and self-aware will have a big advantage.

4. Truly connect with people.
Communication has always been the means by which great leaders achieve great things. But these days, communication occurs in sound bites, status updates, text messages, and tweets of 140 characters or less. More and more, communication is one-to-many, not one-to-one.
The problem with that is it’s mostly superficial and nobody’s got time to pay attention to even a tiny fraction of all the gigabytes being blasted at them every day.
As for all the online social networking we do, none of it’s even fractionally effective when compared with a simple real-time discussion or meeting.
Sure, the ability to write and speak effectively is perhaps more important today than ever before. But if you have that unique ability to listen and really hear what people are saying, to empathize, to really relate and truly connect with folks, then chances are you’ll be writing tomorrow’s success stories.

5. Get things done.
The idea that successful executives, entrepreneurs, and business leaders are typically driven by high aspirations is nothing but a popular myth. Most of those people didn't get to where they are by walking around with their heads in the clouds. They got there by putting one foot in front of the other and getting stuff done.
If they’re not motivated by grandiose dreams, then what does drive successful people? It’s usually one of three things: their job and a strong sense of personal responsibility, out of necessity to put food on the table and a roof over their family’s heads, or to bring a product to market they think is cool and that people might actually want or need.
Regardless of the reason, they get people working toward a common goal. They deliver the goods. They get the job done. They satisfy the needs of their customers. And in so doing, they take care of their families and stakeholders. That’s how things work in the real world.
These days we have more rhetoric, debate, analysis, studies, theories and research than ever before. We have more grandiose ideals than ever before. We have more rules and regulations than ever before. The challenge to get things done has never been greater and the need for leaders with that capability has never been more imperative.
That’s what I think you and your children will need to adapt to a changing world. Now, what do you think?

http://www.inc.com/steve-tobak/5-leadership-skills-you-must-have.html

7 Unusual Things Great Bosses Do

Where employees are concerned, great leaders don't take. Great leaders give--especially these seven things:

They give a glimpse of vulnerability.

To employees, you're often not a person. You're a boss. (Kind of like when you were in school and you saw a teacher at the grocery store; it was jarring and uncomfortable because teachers weren't people. They were teachers.)

That's why showing vulnerability is a humanizing way to break down the artificial barrier that typically separates bosses from employees. One easy way to break down that barrier is to ask for help.
But don't ask the wrong way. Don't puff out your chest, assume the power-position, and in your deepest voice intone, "Listen, John, I need your help." John knows you don't really need his help. You want him to do something.

Instead ask the right way. Imagine you've traveled to an unfamiliar place, you only know a few words of the language, and you're both lost and a little scared.

How would you ask for help? You would be humble. You would be real. You'd cringe a little and dip your head slightly and say, "Can you help me?" Asked that way, John would know you truly needed help. You've lowered your guard. You're vulnerable. And you're not afraid to show it.

By showing vulnerability, you lift the other person. You implicitly recognize her skills while extending trust.
And you set a great example: Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness.

It's a sign of strength.

They give a nudge.
From the employee's point of view the best ideas are never your ideas. The best ideas are their ideas, and rightly so. So don't spell out what you want done. Leave room for initiative. Leave room for ownership.
When you describe what you want to be done, paint with a broad brush. Give employees room to take your ideas and make them their own.

They'll do more than you imagined possible--and they'll feel a sense of satisfaction and gratification that simply following instructions can never provide.

They give unexpected attention.
Everyone loves attention. Unfortunately you don't have unlimited time to devote to each employee.
So make the most of the time you do have. Don't just comment on the big stuff, the stuff you're supposed to focus on.

Notice a small detail. Praise a particular phrase she used to smooth the transition from customer conflict to problem resolution. Praise how he swung by another employee's desk to grab paperwork he could deliver on his way to another office. Pick something small, something positive, something helpful--something unexpected--to show you really pay attention.

Pick out details and employees know you're watching--in a good way--and not only will they work harder, more importantly they will feel better about themselves.

They give employees a break.
He messed up. Badly. Not only are you a little pissed, this is a teachable moment. You feel compelled to talk about it, possibly at length.

Don't. For a good employee, the lesson is already learned. Catch his eye, nod, let it go, and help him fix the problem.

Once in a while employees can all use a break. When they get one they never forget it. And they try really hard to show they deserved that break--and to make sure they never need another one.

They give a peek inside.
My boss was nearly yelling at a supplier who hadn't met a key timeline. It wasn't ugly but it was close. In the middle of their "discussion," when the supplier glanced away, he turned and winked at me.

My boss was signaling that his emotional display was partly for effect, that he had a plan in mind and that I was in on things. I was an insider. We were partners.

We were in it together.

It's easy, as an employee, not to feel like you and your boss are in it together. Make sure your employees do. Give them occasional peeks inside.

They give an undeserved compliment.
Compliments don't always have to be earned. Sometimes a compliment can be like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
When you see something in employees that they don't see--at least not yet--they often try hard to fulfill the belief you have in them.

That happened to me. I went out for wrestling in ninth grade and was nervous, scared, intimidated--pick any fearful adjective. It fit. A week or so into practices I heard the coach talking to one of the seniors. "That kid there," he said, referring to me, "will be a state champion by the time he's a senior."

He was wrong. It turned out I wasn't. But I immediately felt more confident, more self-assured, and incredibly motivated. Those feelings lasted for a long time.

He believed in me.

And I started to believe in myself.

They give a hat rack.
Employees who need something--whether it's a day off, a favor, a break, a chance--often come to you with hat in hand.

They're vulnerable because they need.

Take their hat and hang it up for them. You may not be able to provide what they want, but you can work through their issue with compassion and generosity and grace.

Never let an employee stand with hat in hand. It's one of the worst feelings possible--and one you can make instantly disappear.

http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/7-unusual-things-great-bosses-do.html

26 Lessons from a 26 Year Old CEO

On April 25th I turned 26, and a few weeks later my web marketing agency turned two. What started as a single person mini-business, has turned into a 27 person global web marketing firm in just two short years. I’ve been immensely grateful for the opportunities life has presented me with. And, as I look forward to the future, it would only be fair to look back as well.
Here are 26 lessons I have learned as a young entrepreneur and CEO:

 
1. A written vision of what you want your company to look like in 3 years is important. The pen (or keyboard!) has power. It isn’t enough to envision your goals in your mind. You must have a blueprint on paper. Every decision you make, ask yourself: does this help me get closer to my vision?
2. Learn to listen to your clients. When we started, we were only offering social media consulting services. But, clients quickly demanded more. We eventually ended up serving as their web marketing department. The marketplace will tell you what it needs. You have to listen, and then deliver.
3. Half the job is keeping up. The pace of technology will only continue to quicken. It doesn’t matter what your industry is, you have to keep up in order to constantly leverage it for your business.
4. Always think in terms of value — not price. Always judge based on the value something or someone brings to the table. Price is arbitrary.
5. Only hire people who have fire. This is especially true if you are running a small to medium sized business. In a large corporation, there is room for many types of personalities and people. In a smaller business, passion is a must in every position. Hire people who are driven to do well and see your business succeed.
6. If you must fire, be graceful and professional about it. This is hands down the worst part of being a CEO. It is tough to let people go, but for the greater good of the business, sometimes it must be done. It doesn’t matter if you are firing or being fired, don’t burn bridges.
7. Learn to forgive. Things happen. People change. You can’t move forward in business — or in life — if you can’t forgive and move on.
8. Cash flow is crucial. This is especially true in a recessionary economy, and if you are growing quickly. Work with clients to get payments upfront.
9. Balance is overrated. Aim for joy. When work is fun, you don’t feel the need to take as many breaks. Balance in today’s world looks very different than it did just 20 years ago. Embrace it.
10. Don’t underestimate the power of PR. The power of the press may now be in more than just the hands of journalists (umm…social media, anyone?). Learn to be a friend to the press.
11. Treat your team well. People will follow a leader who treats them with respect. Learn to value your team’s input, and always reward them for a job well done.
12. Focus is the most underrated skill that you must master. 90 percent of the time, what is on your computer screen is not resulting in a positive ROI. Learn to focus on what truly matters in your business. Then, do it consistently.
13. Multitasking doesn’t mean greater productivity. Don’t put “good multitasker” on your resume. Numerous studies have shown that multitasking decreases brain power.
14. Age isn’t just a number. Age does matter. Managing a Gen Y employee is different than managing a baby boomer.
15. Appearances matter. I just interviewed an intern who showed up in an outfit more appropriate for an 8 a.m. class. I had to wonder how he would represent us in front of clients. Whether we like it or not, appearances matter. Dress appropriately.
16. Learn to view situations objectively. Just because you would or wouldn’t do something, doesn’t mean others are the same way.
17. Life is short, and very easy to take for granted. Sounds like something you’d read in a self-help book, but true nonetheless. Life is temporary, and the only thing that matters at the end of the day is how you treated those around you.
18. Pets make the workplace better. I propose that every office should have a mascot. Ours is a little Maltese-Poodle mix named Snoopy. No day is a sad day.
19. A support network is crucial. As much as you try, you can’t do it alone. Building a personal and professional support network is imperative.
20. Give luck its due. Luck has played a huge part in my life. I don’t deny it. I am just grateful for it.
21. Hard work is a given. Struggle doesn’t have to be. I’ve learned that there is always work that will need to be done. The task list is never complete. So, just enjoy it!
22. It IS lonely at the top. And, yes, the view & the food are both amazing.
23. Ignore the trolls. They like the power the anonymity of the internet gives them. Don’t pay them any attention.
24. Be picky when choosing your friends. My friend list (and I don’t mean Facebook) is short. Surround yourself with people who inspire you.
25. Karma exists in business and in life. The old adage says “what goes around, comes around.” The older I get, the more I see this being true. Think twice before you act.
26. Being a CEO means being a CVO. CVO stands for Chief Value Officer. Always ask yourself: How can I create value for our clients? Our prospects? Our internal team? The answers will guide you to building a better company.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/yec/2011/07/25/26-lessons-from-a-26-year-old-ceo/

World's Simplest Management Secret

Management books have it all wrong. They all try to tell you how to manage "people."

It's impossible to manage "people"; it's only possible to manage individuals. And because individuals differ from one another, what works with one individual may not work with somebody else.

Some individuals thrive on public praise; others feel uncomfortable when singled out.

Some individuals are all about the money; others thrive on challenging assignments.

Some individuals need mentoring; others find advice to be grating.

The trick is to manage individuals the way that THEY want to be managed, rather than the way that YOU'd prefer to be managed.

The only way to do this is to ASK.

In your first (or next) meeting with each direct report ask:

• How do you prefer to be managed?
• What can I do to help you excel?
• What types of management annoy you?

Listen (really listen) to the response and then, as far as you are able, adapt your coaching, motivation, compensation, and so forth to match that individual's needs.

BTW, a savvy employee won't wait for you to ask; he or she will tell you outright what works. When this happens, you're crazy not to take that employee's advice!

Unfortunately, most individuals aren't that bold, which is why it's up to you to find out how to get the best out of them.

And you'll never get that out of a management book.

There is no one-size-fits-all in a world where everyone is unique.

http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/worlds-simplest-management-secret.html

What Science Says About Successful Bosses

Over the past year, I've been writing a book about the future of sales and marketing with Howard Stevens, chairman of the leadership assessment firm Chally. As part of a decades-long research project, Chally has gathered extensive personality data about 150,000 salespeople, including 9,000 sales managers.

Last week, I had a conversation with Howard where he described the results of a statistical analysis on the cumulative data on sales managers. While the data set is specific to sales, I believe that personality traits that emerged apply to any management position.
According to the success vs. failure statistics that Howard shared with me, successful bosses tend to be:

1. Humble Rather Than Arrogant
Failed bosses defined their role as some form of telling people what to do. Employees perceived them as obnoxious know-it-alls who wouldn't let them do their job.
Successful bosses put themselves and their own egos into the background. They focused on coaching employees to perform to their highest potential.

2. Flexible Rather Than Rigid
Failed bosses couldn't tolerate change themselves and so found it nearly impossible to get their employees to embrace necessary change.
Successful bosses knew that adapting to new conditions requires personal flexibility in order to inspire similar flexibility throughout the rest of the team.

3. Straightforward Rather Than Evasive Failed bosses tried to manipulate employees using half-truths that left false impressions.  When employees realized they've been fooled, they felt resentful and disloyal.
Successful bosses gave employees the information they need to know to make the best decisions, even if that information is difficult or sensitive.

4. Forward Thinking Rather Than Improvisational Failed bosses often attempted to run their organizations ad-hoc, constantly shifting gears and directions, creating a more-or-less constant state of confusion.
Successful bosses had a plan and made sure that everyone understood it. They adapted that plan to changing conditions but did so carefully and intentionally.

5. Precise Rather Than Vague
Failed bosses created mushy goals that employees found difficult to map into actual activity. As a result, the wrong things got done and the right things didn't.
Successful bosses let employees know exactly what was expected of them, in sufficient detail so that there was no ambiguity about goals.

6. Patient Rather Than Ill-Tempered
Failed bosses blew up and threw fits when problems cropped up. Their employees became more afraid of doing things wrong than eager to do things right.
Successful bosses confronted problems by listening, considering options, deciding on the best approach, and then communicating what needed to be done.

http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/what-science-says-about-successful-bosses.html

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