Use “Snapshots” Not Potshots to Wake Up “Problem Employees”

It’s kind of an eerie label—“problem employee.” With supervisors it usually means, “I have someone working for me who isn’t with the program.”

Then what they often fail to admit is: “I don’t know what to do to turn him/her around.” 

So, what’s the problem? 

In most cases, the problem is around employee behavior—their approach, conduct, interpersonal relationships, and way of communicating. It’s that dreaded “soft stuff” that supervisors often feel helpless to address. 

I’m sure you’ve heard supervisors say things like: 

• That guy/gal has a rotten attitude.
• All I ever hear is complaining.
• I’m sick of always being second-guessed.
• S/he turns people off at my meetings.
• No one wants to work with him/her. 

Typical supervisor reaction to these “problem employees” falls into four buckets: 

• Call them out privately and/or publicly—taking potshots
• Avoiding contact—hiding from them
• Acquiescing to their wants—giving in
• Bad-mouthing them to others–seeking sympathy

These actions change nothing, embolden the employee to continue their behavior, and cause the “good” employees to question their supervisor’s ability to lead. 

The fix: Take camera-less “snapshots” 

It’s not that supervisors don’t want to deal with problem employees: They often don’t know how and are fearful that what they’ll try may make matters worse. Because they don’t have steps to follow, they hope the situation will get better on its own. It won’t. 

To address employee behavior from an objective point of view, you have to start with a little self-directed pep talk scripted like this: 

• The problem is NOT about me but about my employee’s behavior.
• His/her behavior is a “problem” because it has a negative effect on my team.
• The problem behavior can be changed if the employee wants to.
• It’s the employee’s obligation to make those changes and mine to support their efforts as appropriate.
• There will be consequences if the employee doesn’t make needed changes.
• My goal is to help the employee and enable him/her to get on the right track. 

Here is a 10 step process to address the problem: 

1. Get it clear in your head which specific behavior(s) concern you.
2. Identify the situations where the employee’s behavior can be observed.
3. Position yourself to observe the behavior personally: at a meeting, around coworker conversations, and in team settings.
4. Listen and watch what takes place. Take a mental “snapshot” of the scene, capturing exact words said, tone of voice, reactions, body language, and impact.
5. Write down these observed “facts,” including the date and a brief description of the situation. Repeat this process over about a two week period, noting patterns.
6. Schedule a meeting with the “problem” employee. Affirm what is positive about his/her work and express your concern about the behaviors you are seeing.
7. Illustrate your statements by describing the specifics of the situations you observed
8. Ask the employee how s/he saw or interpreted the situation. Help him/her understand your perspective.
9. Explain that you need him/her to make changes. Ask what s/he intends to do. Explain that you are there to support his/her efforts. Ask for a written plan.
10. Schedule regular meetings to revisit his/her efforts, while continuing your own observations until there is clear evidence that the behavior has been corrected. 

Most employees will tell you that they had no idea they were having a negative affect and will be relieved to know that you are there to help them turn things around. There are a few who won’t change, so you may have to take steps to release them. Your written “snapshots” documentation can help provide needed justification. 

Polish up your lens 

Intervening when there’s a problem is a test of our caring. If people don’t know they’re messing up and we let them continue to do it, we fail them. When we look through our lens to create a picture for them, we provide the clarity they need to improve. What better gift is that! 

Have you dealt with a problem employee? What behavior was the problem? How did it get resolved? Thanks for commenting!

When Leadership Under Ground Rises to the Top | Lessons from the Chilean Mine

Fortunately, what goes on underground doesn’t stay underground, especially when it’s important that we know.                                       

That’s the case with the thirty-three Chilean miners trapped 2,000 feet below the surface for 69 days. October 13, 2010 marked the day of their miraculous rescue and the start of the world’s insatiable thirst the details about how they survived. 

Taking the lead 

The events in the mine will be parsed for years. What we know now are the broad actions. 

Anyone who tries to fit the miner’s situation into some standard business model misses the shock, horror, and the fear of the men. Luis Urzua, the foreman, wasn’t watching his team struggle with a tough assignment. He was experiencing the hell of it too. 

Imagine the range of emotions and reactions in each man, separate individuals with unique personalities, life perspectives, family pressures, and degrees of confidence in their fellow miners. 

Try to imagine their reactions and state of mind after the mine collapsed when they knew they were trapped. Now think about the way your coworkers reacted the last time your boss moved them to new offices cubicles, reassigned job duties, or changed working hours. 

Now think again about Luis Urzua. 

When I worked for a big energy corporation, employees with foremen titles were not regarded as “the leadership.” Sure, they had leadership duties to ensure their crews produced, but the scope and impact of their role was considered narrow. 

In an article on lessons learned from the Chilean miners, Steve Tobak wrote, 

“Leadership, management, and organization are not just business concepts.  They’re human concepts, terms that attempt to capture how men and women uniquely organize in groups or teams to take on extraordinary challenges….”

If anything, Urzua (and others on the team, I suspect) stepped up to take the lead in either an overarching or a task-specific way to stay focused on survival. (That’s a pretty clear performance goal for any team.) 

Theirs is a story of courage in the face of extreme adversity, then the possibility of success, and finally triumph. Their courage to beat the odds calls on us to look at how we handle ourselves under pressure where we work. 

Seth Godin writes in his book, Tribes, “Faith is the unstated component of a leader…Faith leads to hope, and it overcomes fear.” 

Urzua’s courage to lead and his ability to sustain faith helped his men to follow him under these dire circumstances. 

Sticking with the basics 

Pulling the miners together under the worst of all pressure situations was heroic. From what we know from media reporting, Urzua started with the basics. 

Kathy Kristof’s article centers on lessons from Urzua. She writes: 

“Everything Urzua had his men do was focused on getting out and surviving in the interim. In addition to rationing food, he had the men use the heavy equipment in the mine to dig to fresh water…map their tunnel and build a latrine.” 

She considers the importance of “discipline” (which I would call roles, regimen, and structure) to engage each man. She writes further: 

“Urzua organized work shifts, giving each miner responsibilities that kept them busy, improved their living conditions and emphasized that individual’s importance to the team. They maintained a schedule, shining lights to simulate day and night…maintained a strict diet even after they were delivered food.” 

Here we have a foreman operating as a full-fledged manager. Clearly, there were mind-challenging up and down, positive and negative, brave and frail moments faced by the men. Perhaps all the experiences will never be shared. The only thing that matters is the outcome that a came from leadership below and also above ground. 

The leader within 

Leaders don’t need fancy titles to lead. They need commitment to a goal their followers share. They need to be worthy of trust and confidence. We don’t need a catastrophic situation like the Chilean mine collapse to rise to the occasion. We need to look around for our opportunity and get started! 

What leadership lesson have you learned from the Chilean miners’ experience? Thanks for commenting.

Rude, Difficult, or Insubordinate? | No More Employees Behaving Badly

“Supervising would be easy if there were no employees.” Well, at least, that’s the old joke! Most employees come to work ready and willing. Unfortunately, a few others come with negative baggage rooted in authority-figure, entitlement, or attention issues. Now the supervisor has his/her hands full.

Keep a watchful eye and well-tuned ear  

The worst thing a supervisor can do is miss the clues or dismiss negative actions. Bad behavior often starts small. You may just chalk it up to the employee “having a bad day.” But if you don’t intervene, it will likely escalate until you have a real mess on your hands.

No one likes to confront bad behavior, but if you don’t it’ll erode your credibility and the respect of your other employees. Failure to confront emboldens bad actors. It tells them that you’re weak, afraid, impotent, or stupid.

Anyone behaving badly at work has successfully behaved badly elsewhere. That mean’s they’ve had plenty of practice, know how and when to act out “safely,” and look forward to the rewards that go with it.

Those “rewards” may not be what you think. There can be great satisfaction in just watching you squirm, undermining you with other employees, getting a lighter workload, or the chance for a juicy lawsuit.

This is a kind of supervisor bullying! You have to disarm it fast!

Don’t wait. Act!

Consider the upside: When you intervene with a bad actor, you give that employee a chance to save his/her career, not a bad legacy for a supervisor! 

Bad behavior often starts with being rude or dismissive like:

• Ignoring you or conveniently “forgetting what you said”
• Failing to acknowledge a greeting or positive gesture
• Taking their time responding to your voice or e-mail
• Disregarding an assignment or disputing its due date
• Being late or not showing up for meetings and/or appointments 

These behaviors can be subtle and deceptive. There will be excuses, justifications, and debate about your interpretation of their actions. No matter.

Confront them privately and immediately. You are expected to uphold company performance standards and that includes appropriate employee behaviors.  Letting “little” things go will turn into bigger things.

Difficult behavior, on the other hand, disrupts the way your team operates. It may include:

• Arguing with you or disputing work assignments and processes
• Constantly questioning your decisions
• Interfering with the work of others and stirring up negativity
• Unwillingness to work with others and complaining about coworkers 

You can protect yourself and, oddly enough, these employees, by having clear performance goals and behavioral standards in writing that you review with them formally and then informally when there are rough patches.

Explain to them that their disruptive behavior can cost them a poor appraisal, their raise, and potentially their job. Don’t accept any arguments. Follow through on what you say, no matter how unpleasant they get. If they quit or try to sue you, oh well! That’s why you have HR and legal resources. Don’t let your employees hold you hostage!

Insubordination—the last straw! 

The crowning glory for bad actors is getting away with blatant insubordination toward you, their supervisor, by:

• Refusing to follow a direct work assignment/order
• Calling you a name in front of other employees
• Calling you a name privately, but afterward bragging about it to other employees 

A lot of opportunities to address bad behavior have been missed by the time things get this far. Here is where termination or legal action is the next step, one that’s a lot more stressful and time-consuming for you than helping the employee to adopt the right behaviors early on.

Keeping ourselves in check! 

Our employees know how to push our buttons. However, our job is to listen and understand what’s motivating unwanted behavior and take action to defuse it constructively. It’s not for us to own the employee’s reasons for their actions but to help them change. Our business fitness is the well we go to during tough times. It’s how we sustain the courage to lead. Please do!

Have you witnessed an employee behaving badly? How did things turn out? Your insights will make a difference.

Employee from Hell or the Gold Standard? What Supervisors See In Us | Self-Awareness As Asset

Sometimes we forget that our jobs aren’t just about us. Sure we’re doing the work, but we’re doing it to meet the expectations of:

• Our supervisor
• Our supervisor’s supervisor
• The company that’s paying us 

We’re hired to get things done, keep things moving, bring new ideas, engage with others, collaborate, make the most of our talents, and get better.

Now look around. Is that what you see people doing where you work? Is that what you’re doing?

Imagine supervising yourself! 

We don’t always see ourselves the way others see us. We may think that we’re doing everything our supervisor wants and then one day we find out we were wrong. That’s usually not a very good day!

Whether it shows or not, your supervisor really wants you to be successful. Why? Because when you are, s/he is too.

Your supervisor also wants you to be low maintenance. S/he doesn’t want to deal with drama, trivial complaints, misbehavior, and careless work.

Supervisors simply want to be able to count on us. They want to know that when they talk to us, we’ll be reasonable, even when we disagree. They want us to be approachable and flexible, accommodating and communicative.

Is this you? Are you sure?

Time to take stock. 

Let’s try a little self-assessment. Respond to each item below with “always,” “sometimes,” or “never.”

• I am on time for work, meetings, and with deadlines.
• I don’t make excuses or blame others for my mistakes.
• I accept assignments without complaint or signs of distaste.
• When I don’t understand, I ask for clarification before acting.
• I am truthful, honest, and ethical.
• I can be counted on to pitch in when needed.
• I work collaboratively and cooperatively with others.
• I don’t undermine my supervisor or stir the pot with my coworkers.
• I follow company rules, standards, and processes.
• I am pleasant, good-humored, and level-headed. 
• I suggest realistic, innovative, and helpful ideas and solutions.

The more “always” answers, the greater your chances of being considered a “gold standard” employee.

Now here’s a next step if you really want to know how you stack up: Ask your supervisor to respond to each item. Then compare results together and talk about the ones you answered differently.

This is one good way to create a positive connection. You’ll show your supervisor that meeting expectations matters to you and your supervisor will recognize you as an ally.

See yourself through a supervisor’s lens. 

Most supervisors would give up a highly skilled worker with a rotten attitude for someone with lesser skills and a great attitude.

This should come as no surprise: Supervisors can teach us how to improve our skills, but they can’t fix our attitude, only we can do that!

A supervisor’s job is about problem-solving day in and day out.  As employees, the last thing we want to do is be a problem or create one.

We do ourselves and our supervisors a big favor every time we anticipate a potential problem and suggest a solution, solve a problem before it gets out of hand, or turn a problem into an opportunity.

Attitude is everything!

It doesn’t take much for a bad actor to turn our workplace into hell on earth. Employee attitude issues are the bane of every supervisor and consume ridiculous amounts of their time and energy. We never want that employee to be us!

Business fitness is what we, as employees, bring to our jobs so we can be a help not a hindrance to our supervisors and the companies that hire us. To be seen as an asset, a partner, and a trusted colleague is the look that flatters us all!

Do you have an experience with a truly “awful” employee or coworker? What was his/her impact? Your insights will be fascinating!

From Boss Basher to Being the Boss: How’s That Workin’ Out? | Supervision Unveiled

We all do it to some degree. We watch our supervisors and wonder, “What the heck do they do all day?”

They’re always on the phone or going to meetings. They walk around carrying papers or peering at their Blackberries. Sometimes they might stop and talk to us about something we’re doing or not doing. Whatever!

So we say, “Hey, I could do that job and way better.”

Really?  

Consider this: All supervisors think they must know how to supervise. After all, a manager (who is a bigger supervisor) picked them for the job. Ergo, they must have the skills to supervise successfully.

A lot of supervisors start out as workers in the departments they eventually supervise. They know how the prior boss did things and they know their employees who were once coworkers. To be a good supervisor, they just need to stop doing what the prior boss did that no one liked. Right?

Well, not exactly. Something mysterious happens once a former coworker becomes the supervisor. In time, s/he becomes a lot like the old boss, maybe a little better or even a little worse, but surely similar. Before too long, we hear ourselves bashing him/her too. 

Time out!

There’s reason to be empathetic toward supervisors who discover that they really don’t understand what their job is. They are shocked when they realize that, at the end of the day, they produce no concrete outputs.

The notion of having a job where your success is measured by the work your employees complete is difficult to get your head around. Many supervisors can’t!

Can you do this? 

Imagine you’re a new supervisor, committed to being the kind of boss your work group has been longing for. Here’s what you’ll be doing to make sure the work assigned to your group gets done on time, on spec, within budget, and without flaws:

• Dealing with employees and others (addressing needs, problems, issues, and expectations)
• Setting goals and holding employees accountable
• Planning and scheduling work
• Tracking progress and making mid-course corrections
• Making decisions on the spot to solve problems
• Being accountable to your own boss (a manager who may be no picnic!)
• Submitting reports on time
• Completing performance appraisals and assigning raises
• Hiring and firing (You’ll get flak for that!)
• Changing the way work is done to increase efficiencies 

That’s the easy stuff. Then there’s this:

• Supporting upper management decisions you don’t agree with
• Defending your work group when facing unjustified criticism
• Building and/or mending relationships with supervisors/managers at odds with you
• Intervening when employees break the rules (substance abuse, theft, violence)
• Communicating new and often unpopular policies
• Building a cohesive team who will respect and follow you 

That’s quite a hefty weight to bear. Not everyone has the strength or the acumen.

The way it goes! 

Tolerance for ambiguity, patience, complex problem solving, good communication skills, and an awareness of how people perceive things are essential supervisory capabilities.

When you see your supervisor walking around with those papers, nose in the Blackberry, attending meetings, and talking to coworkers, the matters at hand are often quite complex and not for public consumption. It’s not as simple as we’d like to think!

In all fairness…. 

I have huge respect for good supervisors. And I have low regard for managers who hire people unprepared for the role. That hurts everyone.

Any job that includes the privilege of directing others is a leadership job in my view. Achieving business fitness is our commitment to developing the capabilities needed to be a good boss when given the opportunity. We desperately need better bosses at every level. We could use you if you’re up for it!

Have you ever verbally bashed a supervisor? Do you still feel justified? What should s/he have done better? Thanks for the insight!

 

Never Underestimate the Wrath of An Employee Scorned | Position Power Revisited

They call it “position power.” It shows up in that little box on the organization chart so we know that: “This manager has decision-making authority.” This usually means he or she can hire and fire, promote or demote, grant or deny requests.  Yes, these folks have the power to make our work paradise or a living hell.

Power play v. Fair play 

A lot of good managers work hard to get it right and succeed. But there are also those managers who always need to remind us that they’re in control.

They don’t do it all the time, just when we need an approval, a decision, or some slack. They tell us they need time to consider ramifications, past practice, and justifications. They’ll let us know.

Position power is a device that clarifies who’s accountable for the budget, compliance, programs, products, and performance. As employees we get that, but what we don’t get is being treated unfairly or without respect.

Beware: Employee power

It’s naïve for managers to ignore or underestimate the power their employees have to make or break them. After all, exactly who is it that’s producing the work that managers benefit from? Their employees.

Individually and as a group, employees have the power to undercut the success of any manager. They can sow seeds of discontent and chatter about the manager’s deficiencies in ways that reverberate up the corporate ladder. They can resist change so it reflects badly on the manager’s ability to lead. And they can get even.

No employee wants to work for a “bad” boss, someone who:

• Speaks to them rudely
• Dismisses their ideas
• Appraises them unfairly
• Eliminates their job without a rationale
• Takes credit for their work 

Although employee tolerance for a boss’s “abuse of position power” is generally long, once there is no hope for improvement, employees do what they need to do. In most cases, the manager will be none the wiser.

The realities of getting even!

1. Betty worked long hours in a flower shop, making stunning arrangements at all price points. She loved the work in spite of the cold and wet conditions better suited to flowers than people.

Because Betty was one of the best arrangers, she often conducted public seminars for the owner, as part of his marketing effort. In time the shop needed to reduce staff, so Betty was let go because of her lower seniority. She accepted that and still offered to conduct the remaining seminars. The owner blew her off.

Result: Betty’s next dozen $25 arrangements contained $50 worth of flowers. The fury of those customers when they ordered their next $25 arrangement without those extra flowers iced her scorn. 

2. Henry, a department manager, had a supervisory vacancy to fill and interviewed a number of internal candidates from the work group as well as external candidates. He selected a candidate from the outside, provided no explanation to the internal candidates about why they were not selected, and then turned the new supervisor loose with his new employees. The new supervisor knew nothing about his staff, the politics of the situation, or the hornets nest he was stepping into.

It didn’t take long for the “scorned” candidates to undercut the new supervisor, making the hiring manager look like a fool for making a bad hire. The heat became so great that the new supervisor was dismissed and one of the internal candidates hired. The manager’s reputation as a leader was called into question and the productivity of the group declined during the change over.

Take care of the hands taking care of you! 

Employees are the company. The closer they are to the work that secures the revenue, the more important and valuable they are. That means the real power is at the bottom of the organization chart, not the top!

Your business fitness is a measure of how well you attract followers and then empower them. Let’s do all we can to be powerful together!

Do you have a “get even” tale to tell? I’m all ears!

Whose Job Is It Anyway? | Set Boundaries. Create Accountability.

I loved that TV game show, “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” emceed by Drew Carey from 1998-2006, featuring masterful comedy improv artists like Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, and  Wayne Brady.

In each episode, the performers were given surprise, off-the-wall situations to enact, making up dialogue off the top of their heads. They had to take on peculiar roles and follow weird rules. The pace was frenetic. Their creative antics were hilarious. And the winner, that Drew selected, was the comic who did the best job meeting his unstated expectations.

Your job is your role.  

Supervisors assign performance expectations. Employees act on them. There’s feedback along the way to make sure everyone is on the same page.

But then things break down and supervisors find themselves:

• Catching careless employee mistakes and fixing them
• Double-checking work before it gets released
• Answering endless how-to questions on routine tasks
• Uncovering neglected office procedures
• Facing push-back on performance feedback 

Many supervisors struggle with holding employees accountable for their work. When it’s time to address weak performance, they feel bad about doing it.

Whose work is it anyway?

When employees don’t deliver what’s expected, they shouldn’t be able to win. But they do win if their supervisor:

• Does the work for them
• Catches their mistakes for them
• Answers all their questions
• Coddles them when their work is slipping 

When supervisors are doing work that belongs to their employees, in whole or in part, the company is paying two people to do the same work. No business model survives that way. Boundaries help everyone succeed.

Gotta know your lines! 

Unfortunately, boundaries can blur easily. It starts with incidents that seem so innocent, so minimal, and occasional. But they creep up on you.

So you have to keep your guard up and your “lines” ready. Here are typical scenarios that most supervisors face:

Situation 1:  Martha comes to your office (in fact, interrupts your work) to ask you the latest information on a company policy while her customer is on hold. She’s been trained on the policy and how to access the company’s on-line FAQs.

Your lines: “Martha, you have access to that information. Please tell the customer you will find it and call him back in 15 minutes.” 

Situation 2: John is responsible for ensuring that there is sufficient inventory to cover monthly demand. He failed to meet that standard again this month. In his own defense, he told you that his suppliers were not delivering on time.

Your lines: “John, this is the third consecutive month that inventory has not met demand. I need to review the initiatives you will put into place to deal with suppliers? Please prepare a written plan for me to review and discuss with you before noon on Friday.” 

Situation 3: Sylvia’s performance has been declining in two areas: meeting monthly internal communications deadlines and launching a social media marketing team. During your feedback session, Sylvia argues with you, defending her performance.

Your lines: “Sylvia, I have described my expectations for these areas of your performance. I have just  given you specific examples of work that has fallen short. I hear the justifications that you are giving me but that doesn’t change my expectations. I want you to succeed here and am willing to support the efforts you make. I would like to meet with you again tomorrow and talk about what specific steps you will take to improve.” 

Let your boundaries propel accountability.  

As a supervisor, you are accountable for the collective output of your work group. But each employee is accountable for his/her own work. Your job is to ensure that accountabilities are being met by being supportive but without taking on their work. Being business fit means staying focused on what needs to be done and by whom. When your employees know whose job it is, your job is a lot sweeter!

Were you ever in a situation where someone tried to off-load their work to you? What were your lines? How did everything resolve itself?

Employees Underperforming? Get Their Attention! | Supervise for Accountability

Work’s piling up. You’re worn out. Finally, you get the okay to hire.  You’re pumped. Relief is in sight. Truth is: Employees are work. Actually, they’re your job.

Employees, especially new ones,  mean that you’re faced with:

• Job orientation and training
• “What do I do now” questions
• Reluctance to make decisions when you’re not around
• “I didn’t think that was my job” disclaimers 

So where’s your relief? You’re not totally free of the work you hired for, because it’s still in your head, and the people you hired to do it feel like an added burden.

Take heart. The time you invest developing your employees will deliver big rewards.

Be clear about employee accountabilities. 

The biggest mistake is hiring people to complete a string of tasks. Look at your job descriptions. My guess is that they describe responsibilities, duties, and/or tasks.

If you want employees to lighten your load and add value to your business, hold them accountable for results. That means the tasks/duties they complete must be the means to the ends that you need.

Here’s how you link tasks and accountabilities (also referred to as results or outcomes):

• Process customer claims (task) within 48 hours, ensuring a positive interactive experience for the customer (result)
• Maintain product inventory (task), ensuring availability to meet monthly demand (result)
• Market services to clients (task), averaging 5% conversion to sales monthly (result)
• Complete administrative reports (task) within the first 5 days of the new month (result) 

Employees need to know what they are expected to contribute to the success of the business. It’s not just about being busy doing tasks. It’s about doing work that counts.

The next big question, of course, is: “How do supervisors and business owners motivate employees to do their best work?”

Being “in” on things matters most. 

Repeatedly, studies have been done on what motivates employees. We always think that must be money, but it isn’t. Actually, we all want to feel like we’re important enough to be in the know.

Supervisors who want to bring out the best in their employees share relevant information and make them part of what’s going on.

They can pump up the motivation and ability of employees to do their “best” when they:

• Engage employees in decision-making about things that will affect them (i.e., scheduling, work processes, equipment purchases, working conditions)
• Involve them in the root cause analysis of work that “went wrong” (i.e., customer problems, accidents, equipment failure, miscommunications)
• Ask them for ideas, innovations, and insights (i.e., new products, procedures, work processes)
• Give them visibility with customers, vendors, suppliers, and management
• Take them to see similar business operations in other companies or to visit departments they impact in their own company
• Give them business cards, reminding them that they are representatives of the company and impact its brand

 Talk to your employees. 

Reinforce each employee’s accountabilities monthly. That means a face-to-face dialogue about:

• how they are doing
• what they may be uncertain about
• how ready they are to take on more responsibilities
• what help they need from you, and
• what they can do to get better 

This is where the two of you talk about your expectations and how you can  support to each other. It is not a performance review;  it a conversation.

Becoming the “best” is a team effort. 

Setting the bar attainably high is the best thing you can do for your business and your employees. Employees who think they’re being set up for failure won’t make the effort. Those who believe their supervisor is counting on them to succeed will knock themselves out to deliver. If that isn’t the case, then that employee is the wrong fit and may need to move on.

Supervisors who use the smart moves for achieving business fitness with their employees create an individual development culture that delivers success all around. Nothing beats an employee team making it happen!

What approaches have you experienced that helped employees become their “best”?  What made them work? Any cautions? Thanks.

What’ll It Be? Truth or Lies? | Feedback as Career Currency

Are you tough enough for American Idol style feedback? I wish I were, but know I’m not. Applause and praise are what we want. Booing and criticism are not.  Truth is, the route to success takes us down both paths.

Eat up all your feedback. It’ll make you strong.

Successful people gobble up all the feedback they can get. Sometimes it’ll be negative feedback—criticism directed at their faults and shortcomings. Other times, it’s positive—praise for accomplishments and talents. They’ll take it all.

Without feedback, we can’t get better. So why, do we: Avoid it? Resist it? Contest it?

Because it’s scary. It’s likely to expose truths that we may not want to face or unsettle our fragile self-confidence.

The good news about feedback 

It’s simply information. The more specific it is to us and the situations we’re in, the more useful it is.

It’s ours to accept or reject. We’re the ones who process it, assess its validity, and apply what makes sense.

It’s alive! Feedback is a function of how we interact with others and perform at our jobs. Negative feedback one day can become positive feedback the next.

It’s also ours to give. We can even provide feedback on the feedback we’re being given—the content, the style, and the relevance.

It’s evidence. Feedback reveals the realities of our work environment—standards of behavior and performance, attitudes of bosses and co-workers, and the culture of our companies.

The bad news: All feedback is not created equal! 

The only feedback worth taking is delivered by good people. I mean people that we respect, who hold themselves and us to high standards, who are fair, balanced, and knowledgeable. It’s their feedback that can help us become more successful.

Feedback given from people who wish to demean, insult, ridicule, weaken, or control us is to be rejected.

The power of feedback is granted by us. Although some feedback may be hard to swallow because it forces us to take an honest look at what we’re doing, it should not be hurtful.

The best feedback is constructive and empowering. It gives you specific things to do, change, watch, master, and practice and a way to measure how well you’re doing.

How it works—No lies, Pinocchio! 

1. Years ago when I was teaching English, I gave a student a “C” for one quarter. She started sobbing. Her parents came to complain, expecting me to raise her grade. I explained that it made more sense to give her honest feedback on her writing now rather than wait for her to flunk freshmen comp on their dime. After all, I let my students rewrite every paper after I’d graded it, recording only the better grade. Her parents backed off. She worked harder and improved.

2. There was man in my department who had been second in command before I came on as manager. For years he had been responsible for the preparation of IT proposals that were all but incomprehensible. I gave him feedback and collaborative assistance. He refused to accept it despite the objective data. He was both unwilling and unable to see beyond his own reality. His career stalled and he retired early.

3. I had to face the hard truth myself as a corporate manager responsible for an organization of nearly 500. The managers kept coming to me with their problems, expecting me to propose  solutions. I was overwhelmed to exhaustion. One of the VP’s gave me a tough “behind the woodshed” talk about holding people accountable and not owning their problems. I listened, chewing on my lip pretty hard to keep from crying, and got the message. It saved me.

Open up and let the feedback in 

Our careers thrive when we get the right feedback at the right time by the right people. Asking for feedback is the best way to build your business fitness. Be specific. Say, “I would like your feedback on my work? How can I do better?” Honest feedback is money. When you get it, invest it immediately in yourself, and watch your returns go wild!

What’s the best or worst feedback you’ve ever gotten? What happened in the end? I’ve bet you’ve got some good stories!

Want Control? Manage the Message. | Words As Power Tools

“I’m at a loss for words.” Such a helpless moment! We’ve all been there, I suspect. Can you remember a time when someone unexpectedly pushed your hot button and you became tongue-tied? I sure can. And that made it worse!

What you say matters. 

Too many people in the workplace simply don’t know what to say when faced with an issue, problem, or challenge.  So they either say nothing or the wrong thing.

Big messes in business are generally the product of the wrong words delivered at the wrong time in the wrong way. The result often is:  

• Customers furious with the phone rep’s comments
• Employees complaining to HR about their performance review
• Harassment suits or diversity complaints
• Poor morale
• Employee turnover 

It’s not industry jargon that’s the issue here. It’s insensitive or antagonistic language, used by supervisors (and employees), that hits a nerve.

Companies need people who have a command of the language, so that they can:

• Describe performance behaviors objectively
• Open up collaborative discussions
• Address the needs of upset customers
• Resolve disputes
• Provide compelling reasons for change 

The right words clear up misunderstandings, change behavior, build teamwork, and influence progress. The wrong words create dissention, alienate employees, paralyze growth, and build distrust.

Words give you control. 

Successful careers are a function of your ability to use words effectively. You need words to:

• Describe the root cause of a problem
• Provide justification for a raise, promotion, or special assignment
• Promote the value of the work you achieved
• Build positive relationships
• Make effective presentations
• Sell your innovative ideas 

Never underestimate the power of words and the asset value they have to your career.

A case in point 

I was an English major working in an engineering company. It didn’t take long for me to realize that the language of this business, a Fortune 500 energy corporation, was technical. Papers and memos were loaded with analyses and endless minutia, regardless of the needs of the reader.

Part of my job was to convert the language of complex energy issues into information easily understood by customers. My challenge was to “translate” engineering “speak” into laymen’s terms without compromising the accuracy of the information.

It didn’t take too long until I realized how much influence this role gave me. It became my brand and stayed with me with every career move.

I realized that word power creates the opportunity to influence ideas, thinking and action. Here’s how you can enjoy this advantage:

• Offer to take the notes at strategy meetings where you summarize the key points in complex discussions. The words you use can influence direction.
• Prepare position papers on subject matter important to your work group
• Write internal marketing and branding language for your team
• Volunteer to draft “discussion documents” (often called straw men) for key meetings
• Draft a performance self-appraisal at evaluation time 

Go ahead. Write the words. No one else wants to. 

That’s the truth. Writing—struggling to find the correct words and preparing documents—is the last thing most of your colleagues want to do. It’s drudgery to them, mostly because “they don’t have the words.” Not only will you have an outlet for your perspective, you will “save the day” but taking that burden off someone else.

Look, words are important. It’s how we keep the craziness of the world in perspective. We need to put labels on things so we can manage them. If you can do that at work, you’ve got a huge edge. Business fitness includes attracting a following. I guarantee you that the right words are your best hook!

Do you have a “loss for words” moment to share? Or a time when words saved the day? The word’s the thing!