Tennis anyone?

It’s good form to ask your employee questions in order to

• Get their buy-in
• Hear their ideas
• Build their confidence
• and teach them to solve their own problems

 But how do you ask?

 Consider a tennis coach who watches you swing and miss the ball.  The coach asks;

1. “Why didn’t you watch the ball?” 
2. “What were you thinking?”
3.  “What did you notice about the ball?”

What’s your response to those questions?  The first might make you defensive, the second feels condescending but the third might make you think.  “Hmm I wasn’t watching the ball, maybe that’s the problem?”

Next time you catch yourself asking “You don’t really think that solution will work, do you?” be aware that you’re calling them stupid. Re-phrase it and aim for a truly open-ended question.

Just do it

Have you noticed that when you ask the team to take on a task, some people might jump in and succeed, others not so much? Let’s focus on those who don’t jump in.

Tip: Did you know that one of the biggest reasons we don’t do (insert task or goal here) is a fear of failure?

How to spot fear of failure

• Resistance “I don't want to…”
• Self sabotage "“I’ll get to it…” or some form of procrastination.
• Low self-esteem “I can’t because…”
• Perfection “I need more answers, time, resources” (my regular readers who catch my typos, you know I do not suffer from perfectionist!)

What to do about it?

Present your idea.

Ask for their input.

Listen to their responses and then ask for what they need to overcome the challenge.

Recognize their needs and offer support and encouragement along the way.

 It might sound like this:

You:  Good news, we’ve found a way to simplify the invoice process. Starting next week, we will all enter the type of request in the order form.

Captain Resistor:  “I can’t because I’m too busy to add anything else to what I do.  You keep telling me that I should be producing more throughout the day, this will slow me down”

(Notice how I added some hot buttons to get you annoyed?)  Breathe

You:  I appreciate (was that part hard?) you working towards meeting your productivity numbers.  Simplifying our invoice process is important for all of us. How much extra time do you think you will need to enter the type of request?

Captain Resistor: “I don’t know, I haven't tried it yet”

You:  Why don’t we try it for a day and then meet to see what the impact is?

Captain Resistor:  “Okay, but don’t penalize me if my numbers are down!”

The conversation will continue a little longer, but look how we got Captain Resistor to at least try.  Use positive reinforcement to build on that success.

Boo Y'all

I'm never one to miss an opprtunity to celebrate, so with Halloween just a week away why not set a short term goal with your team and reward the behavior you want to see more of.  

Idea of the month:  Sweet Service

Goal: Offer specific rewards for specific behavior.

How it works:  Outline your expectations and then deliver the prizes on Halloween.  You could even dress up to deliver them!

Here's a few ideas.  

Junior Mints for convincing a customer to sign-up for the season, or agree to monthly EFT payments that show their commit-mint.

100 Grand Bar for setting up a customer pre-buy for the year, or selling an add-on service.

Snickers  for  telling a funny joke that made the whole office chuckle. 

Almond Joy for tactfully dealing with a long-time, painful customer who some say is a little 'nuts'

Smarties for skillfully solving a problem in the office

Have a good and plenty week!

What other ideas do you have?  Please share!

'Cause I said so

You will be asking your team to change something today, this week or this month. That's probably the only thing that's not changing.  Are you getting resistance?  

Why not try a little improv from the actor's studio.  Here's how it works.  In improv, whatever the other person says, you reply with yes and...  

This helps the actors work together to build a story and is more effective than blocking it with a no, or because I said so, or because 'they' say we have to.

You:  Hey team, starting today we are going to use blue paper for invoices. We've discovered that blue is a calming color and people will be faster to pay.  Using blue paper will save you some of the follow up calls you've told me you don't like.

Team:  What!  I like the white paper!

You:  Yes and white is a nice color.  Blue is more calming.

Team:  What will will do with all the leftover white paper?

You: Yes and I'm glad you brought that up.  Let's brainstorm some options.

That sounds more collaborative doesn't it? 

5 to 1

You've heard me say it before, so think of this as a friendly reminder.

One of the best ways to build a better relationship with your team is to express appreciation.  And research shows that the ratio of positive to negative interactions is 5:1.

Don't break out a spreadsheet and count five compliments before offering criticism, but do be mindful of the ratio.

Think about the paperclip rule:  Put 5 paperclips in your left pocket in the morning and every time you offer some positive feedback, move 1 paperclip to the right pocket.  This physical reminder can help you seeking out the good in what people are doing. The negative will come naturally. 

If you need help spotting the positive, look for;

- someone on the phone using a pleasant tone

- a team member who logs thorough notes

- a co-worker who comes in with a smile 

- someone who responds in a timely fashion to an email request

They are out there!  Turn your attention to the positive and you will find it. 

Well, maybe this one time...

One of the biggest complaints employees have about Management is...drum roll...inconsistency.

I've heard comments like, "I don't know who is going to show up - happy, charming boss or cranky, intense boss."

I've also heard that "some people get away with things" that others don't.

Consistency and fairness builds loyalty and engagement.  That sounds good.  How can you do it?

Keep your tone and personality consistent.  That might mean taking a moment before you walk into the office to breathe and smile.

Make the rules clear and follow-through with each person.  Change the communication style to match the employee not the message.

If you are having trouble with one person and you sense it's because of your long standing (good or bad) relationship with them, role play conversations with a fellow manager.  Ask them to help you take the bias out of the conversation.

On another note...

Have you called your office lately? How's the greeting? We've running a short, interactive and effective webinar Oct 1st and the topic is great greetings.  

For more information or to join us  click here.

Are you out there?

Do you have remote workers?  Perhaps you are letting people telecommute a couple of days a week, or maybe you are saving office space and letting people work from home or maybe you have employees in remote locations.  Whatever the case, managing remotely can be a challenge.  Here's a tip.

Be clear about goals but don't just focus on the outcome pay attention to the process.

For example:

You've decided to focus on adding cell phone numbers and texting options for your customers.  You've told the team their specific goal - 10 a day.  

Your in-house employee is producing 8 a day but you hear her ask, so you know her intentions are good.  

Your remote employee is producing 8 a day, but you don't hear her ask.  It's easy to assume she's not trying.

What's the solution?  Engage the remote worker in the conversation about the goal.  Tell her that 10/day is the goal and ask how would she like to be assessed and assisted.

What's worked for you?