Leadership and Management Blogs...yuk!

WARNING...RANT BEGINNING!

How about some information that will help us plodding old mules who do most of the managing and leading and working around here?

So, today I was following some blogging advice that I got off a blog site (go figure). It said to read other blogs on the same topic or topics that you enjoy or are blogging about yourself.

I did that and you know what? I don't like most of the stuff regarding leadership and management I've run across so far. I guess I must be a snob or something. I know I'm stating my opinion as fact here, and I guess that's ok with a blog, but most of what I've read has been either bloggers "re-publishing" articles from others (maybe I'm just too new to have resorted to that yet so I should withhold judgment) or leadership and managment blogs written to help EXECUTIVES. Nice. Maybe they're the only people who have time to read blogs.

Now, don't get me wrong. Executives need leadership and management advice as much as the next schmoe, but a lot of what is talked about is a bunch of high-falutin' stuff that doesn't even scratch the surface of what the dogfaced manager has to do on a daily basis, like:

1. Figuring out how to get everything done with fewer staff than you used to have (or need)
2. Motivating the troops when business is down, pay is frozen, and bonuses (what's that?) are gone
3. Coaching to improve performance
4. Balancing the demands of your own job while ensuring everyone else has what they need
5. ...and the list goes on.

I call on my fellow bloggers to remember us, the lowly "under 6 figures" leaders who need any assistance we can get.

I will be starting a series on coaching in the next day or so. Hopefully, readers will find it useful and not too high-brow for their own good. I've been accused of being a lot of things (and most are true), but "high-brow" isn't one of them.

Leaders are THERE

Wait a minute. Leaders are where?

Leaders are THERE.

Well, what does that mean? It means that you show an interest in your folks and what they're doing. It means that you don't sit behind a closed door and live in your own little world of reports and phone calls when your team is out THERE taking care of business, providing hopefully world-class service to your customers, helping the business be successful.

And it certainly means that if you need to ask your team members to do something extra for work like possibly stay late or work on the weekends, you ensure you are visible and accessible. Maybe you don't have to be on the premises every moment that your workers are (although showing up every now and then is a very nice touch), but it does mean that you are available to help them with a problem or advise them with an issue. You don't even necessarily have to do anything at all. Your mere presence can motivate the team and help them know you are totally behind them and their efforts.

Real leaders do the work needed and provide the support necessary to help their people be successful whenever and wherever it is.

Leaders are developers...what is this, construction?

Leaders have lots of responsibilities. They have to complete their missions and deal with the day-to-day activities of their teams or groups. There are so many job duties that need to be handled and there's often one biggie gets left by the wayside...team member development.

That's right, one of the integral duties of any leader, but probably the one least discussed or dealt with, is developing your people. Oh, sure, it's great to get the job done, but one of the ways you can strenghten your team is to show your people that you value them, that you think they're worthwhile, that you want to help them learn and grow and move forward.

Developing that talent in your team is key because:
1. Stronger team members make a stronger team
2. Team members who feel you value them enough to invest time, money, or other resources in them are more committed to you and the organization
3. As your organization hopefully grows, but surely changes, new leaders will be needed; new specialists will be in demand

So what are some of the ways you can develop your team members?
1. Find out what they're passionate about, what they love to do and help them try to associate that passion or love into their current job duties If Sheila loves to coach others, let her have the opportunity to coach more often and to perhaps a more diverse or larger crowd. Chances are she'll love the opportunity and exceed your and the recipient's expectations.
2. As you evaluate your team (and I'm sure you are regularly evaluating them, either formally or informally), determine their strengths and areas for improvement:
Strengths: Help them build on their strengths by giving them opportunities to showcase them to others. Give them projects that cater to those strengths. If your team member is a good writer, let him or her draft the next communication or SOP or training guide and ensure proper credit is given when it is complete.
Opportunities for improvement: No one is great at everything. If you know that Tony has untapped talent for public speaking, but his confidence level isn't as strong as it could be, push him outside his comfort zone and have him present a class to a larger audience or have him present something more complex than he's used to.

Two things -- don't go off and leave your people on their own. When you work to develop your folks, you have to ensure they have the proper support they need to succeed, and that means an investment from you. And that's the other thing...success breeds success whether it's a victory with something they like to do or a victory over something they're afraid of or don't necessarily love. When people "win", they want to "win" even more.

So, give your people the chance to grow by giving them the chance to shine. Develop their talents and you'll be glad you did. You won't have to worry about anyone noticing how wonderful you are because you're outstanding staff will do that for you.

What's the word? It's ACTION.

I had a boss in the Army, absolutely the worst boss I ever had (and I've had some really bad ones) who I want to reference for my post today. Now, the other poor bosses I've had were just bad bosses, kind of mean at times, thought they were "all that and TWO bags of chips", but this guy...this guy was morally bankrupt, as well...a total sleaze.

Anyway, this colonel used to add a phrase to his signature block, "Leadership is Action", and since I despised him, I despised the phrase. He was the poorest excuse for a leader because he engendered no respect (I wasn't perfect, of course). But, I keep digressing.

Today I heard a phrase at church, "Service is Action" and it made me remember the colonel's phrase. I no longer despise him so I no longer despise the phrase.

"Leadership is ACTION."

"Service is ACTION."

How about that? Both sentences have one thing in common. What is it? Why, you're exactly correct! It's ACTION.

You can't be a strong leader by sitting on your butt and you can't be a servant or of service to others by sitting on that same keester. Action, actually doing something, is the key to being or becoming a solid leader or true servant.

Sounds so simple, doesn't it?

Responsibility versus Accountability...What's the difference?

Don't responsibility and accountability mean the same thing? Actually, they don't.

Responsibility means you have the duty to fulfill a task or an assignment.

Accountability means that, even if you don't have direct control over a task or process or initiative, you still have to show the results.

A boss can pass on responsibility for his or her duties because he or she has many things to do, but cannot pass on accountability; he or she is still ultimately the person who has to account for and show results against the success or failure of a task or initiative or effort.

Bottom line is that the buck stops with the boss and he or she will have to provide an accounting for what does or does not happen. Everything ultimately belongs to the boss.

It's all yours, baby. Enjoy.

Encouraging Outstanding Service

Many times in America, we receive service from another person. The service industry is one of the fastest growing (and maybe fastest growing) industries in the country.

Despite that, or maybe because of it, we often receive mediocre or poor service at a store, restaurant, or business. We're almost conditioned to it because it happens so much.

BUT THEN, all of a sudden, we are the recipients of TOTALLY AWESOME, OUSTANDING service. What do we do with that? Maybe we just hopefully enjoy it to the max since we know it's going to be a while, maybe a long while, until we experience such a thing again.

Or maybe, we provide some encouragement and positive feedback to the person who made our day and to hopefully spur them to provide it again for us or someone else.

There are different ways to provide that encouragement and feedback:

1. We can personally thank the service provider even more than with a "thanks" ("You sure did go above and beyond today and I really appreciate it" or "You know what? You made my day!").

2. We can write a note on the merchant copy of the receipt ("Outstanding service!" or "Because of you we had the best dining experience in a very long time. Thank you!").

3. Tell the boss. One time I gave someone a very strong "thanks" for a service they provided and the person responded, "Thanks, but if you really want to say thanks, tell my boss." GREAT point. If you have the time and can find the manager or supervisor, let him or her know and be specific with the name of the server and what happened. You'll probably knock their socks off...I did this a few months ago and the manager was so used to getting complaints that he began a "pre-emptive" defensiveness. He was shocked when I provided positive comments.

4. Do all of the above

*Just a note that if a tip or gratuity is warranted, the verbal or written thanks should not replace that cash. And if you have the money to be generous, I encourage you to share it...with the economy the way it is, servers are getting poorer and poorer tips.

When you provide this positive experience for your service provider, you may also have the chance to model your behavior for someone else like a spouse, friend, child or grandchild. What a wonderful example you can be for someone else while simultaneously doing something nice.

Think about it...and then do it.

But I want my employees to like me....

Yes, we all want to be liked. It's a natural human desire. We like others and we want them to like us. This is great in a friendship, but it rarely works out in a) parenthood (don't get me started on that) or b) boss / employee relations. Friends do things for each other because of mutual liking.

The problem is that many leaders confuse "like" and "respect". It's not uncommon for leaders to think the way to take care of their people is to do things their troops like or to look the other way when the employees do things they shouldn't do. "If I'm mean to Bob or try to apply some discipline then he won't like me and won't do what I want." Ever heard that before? Friendship can muddy the waters at work.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not at all saying you should be mean or ugly (read yesterday's post). You can be friendly without being friends. It's a little harder when two people are friends and then one becomes the boss. The trick there is for both to know when it's time for "friends" and when it's time for "boss/employee".

The key is to:

1. Set expectations up front. Let your people know the way you do business and what they can expect from you. If you start out with the friend thing and then decide you have to "tighten it up" a little, you're going to be in a world of hurt. If you start out professional, you can always back off some once things are going smoothly.
2. Be fair and even-handed. Treat everyone openly and honestly and equally. Be respectful of your team members as human beings and adults.
3. Hold your team accountable to your expectations and their job duties.

Let's face it; you weren't hired to be Mr. or Ms. Popular. You were hired to get a job done...just like your people were. If you follow the keys above, what you will receive from your team is RESPECT and coupling that with a friendly atmosphere can make work a nice place to be where jobs get done like they're supposed to.