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Category: Personal Development

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Best Practices Human Resources Management Marketing Skills Women In Business

Research Shows: Leadership = Warmth + Competence

When I think about building my image as a trustworthy leader, I tend to think about strengthening qualities and providing services that will proactively draw people in. That’s why I was particularly surprised by a recent study that took a markedly different approach.

At its core was the need to demonstrate two specific qualities that indirectly indicate that you simply won’t hurt others. While that may seem obvious, it was actually much more subtle: the idea was that at the heart of all relationships, both professional and personal, are two factors: whether you are “competent,” and whether you are “warm”. “Warmth” is important because it implies a lack of intentional threat. And “competence” balances warmth because it indicates that you won’t accidentally cause someone harm either. The combination of both allows people to trust in someone’s potential as a leader. It’s an interestingly defense-oriented approach to the perception of leadership.

But it’s more than whether or not you are warm and competent: the other half of the equation is whether other people believe that you have both of these qualities. This is where the ability to speak like a leader comes in.

What does warmth sound like? What about competence? We tend to think of warmth in terms of feelings and behaviors, and competence in terms of skills, but based on the above explanation of what warmth and competence represent, the way you communicate your intentions and executions will drastically influence your credibility on both fronts.

Let’s look at a few factors to consider for each of these areas, to ensure that your communication style allows your warmth and competence to shine through.

Word choice

Of course your message needs to be factually accurate and true, but it goes beyond that. When you explain something, do you give more jargon-laden detail than the listener wants, needs or can understand? Does it seem like you are avoiding answering certain questions or omitting other details? These habits can undermine the perception of warmth because it seems like you don’t really understand or trust me, and if you don’t trust me, why would I trust you? Alternatively, if you use lots of fillers like um, you know, I mean, or sort of, it seems like you lack confidence in what you’re saying, which erodes the perception of competence.

Using relatable anecdotes and clear organization, on the other hand, make it much easier for the listener to understand your meaning. This transparency allows them to let down their guard, and see you as a more trustworthy leader.

Articulation

Once you know what you want to say, the way the words roll – or stumble – off the tongue, will either help propel the listener along with you, or make them hit the brakes. Do you speak at a volume that is easy for everyone to hear, and at a speed that is easy to follow? Does your inflection highlight important words, indicating your personal interest in the topic and adding vocal interest for the listener? If so, all of these practices will reinforce your image of warmth and competence because it shows you are considering and prioritizing the needs of the audience. Mumbling, rushing, and monotonous, run-on sentences will all have the opposite effect.

Facial expressions

Tying it all up, your physical communication is, ironically, the strongest of the three communication modes when it comes to your appearance of competence, warmth and overall credibility. No matter how much expertise you demonstrate in your content, and how strong or clear your voice is, facial expressions such as occasional eye-rolling, unintentional frowning when concentrating, eye contact (or lack thereof), or chewing on your lip can signal your deeper, underlying negative feelings about what you are saying, from arrogance and contempt to insecurity. Remember to smile when appropriate, make eye contact with everyone without staring them down, and keep a neutral listening face in order to reassure the audience of the sincerity of your intentions.

Regardless of the seniority of your position, bearing these points in mind will help you reinforce the impression of being both warm and competent, and come across as a natural leader worth following.

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Do you have other questions or feedback about effective leadership communication? If so, contact me at laura@vocalimpactproductions.com or click here to schedule a 20-minute focus call to discuss it with me personally!

 

Categories
Growth Health and Wellness Management Technology Women In Business

7 Attention Saving Strategies to Manage Email Distractions

Could you accelerate daily productivity with tips to manage email distractions? According to a report by McKinsey, 28% of a person’s workday is spent checking email.  Sound familiar? That’s over one quarter of your entire business day is allocated just to manage emails. It’s a wonder any of us get anything done. Studies show that 26% of employees admit email is their number one distraction, and I believe that.

Here’s what I’d like you to remember – emails are requests from other people who want YOUR time and ATTENTION to accomplish THEIR objectives. While it is, of course, a necessary form of communication – YOU get to set the terms of how it is used, putting YOU in control of your time. Your time is far too valuable to let others determine how you spend it. So, what’s a person to do?

Here are seven of my favorite strategies to manage email distraction:

  1. Invest 15 minutes.This is something I’m passionate about. I love breaking things down into manageable bits. Manage email in 15-minute increments. Set the timer on your iPhone, play a game and answer as many as you can. Then move onto a more strategic activity.
  2. Put a limit on it.According to a University of British Columbia study, to manage email distractions means limiting your reading of email to three times per day reduces stress and distractions by 47%, boosting productivity and focus. That’s huge!
  3. Unplug from the unwanted. Millions of people use me, which is a fabulous tool that allows you to unsubscribe from email subscriptions that are filling up your inbox. If you’re not reading them, skip that distraction, save yourself valuable time and just unsubscribe.
  4. Block it out. Freedomis a cool distraction management tool that I use on my Mac and iPhone to block social media sites and email. It’s kind of the internet version of a do not disturb sign and it’s ideal for creating focused, uninterrupted time when you’re looking to increase productivity. More than 450,000 people use this app across multiple electronics.
  5. Create short cuts. Text Expander is one of my fave apps on my Mac. It is so simple. By allowing you to load short cuts for regularly used responses, words, and templates, it can save an ah-mazing amount of time. If you find that you respond to emails with similar information on a regular basis, this app might be one of your new faves as well!
  6. Bounce them back.If you use Gmail, this one might be the answer you’ve looked for. Boomerang for Gmail is a great service to manage emails by allowing you to bounce emails back to you when you want to answer them and write emails and schedule delivery for another time. Helps to keep that inbox overwhelm at bay.
  7. To-Do list it.I haven’t tried it yet, but for fans of to-do lists, the Taskforce app sounds like a solution. It lets you transform your emails into tasks and comes with an automatic filtering feature.

Being a leader in today’s world means challenging the way you work, communicate, interact, and manage your time and talent. When you recognize how very valuable your hours are, you start to get protective of them. Fortunately, there are brilliant people out there creating new dynamic tools every day that can help us effectively streamline our workdays, so that we reclaim that mismanaged time and invest it making memorable moments by paying ATTENTION to the important people in our lives.  When you do? You will have more impact and influence at work, at home, and in your community. That’s a win-win-win for everyone!

If your emails have merely become a means in which to communicate to others, it’s time to make them a way you can genuinely connect. When your emails are elevated to be more personal, personable, connected and sincere, others will not only want to read them, they’ll enjoy doing so.

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Growth Human Resources Leadership Personal Development

3 Reasons Why Soft Skills Are No Longer the "Red-Headed Step Child"

Soft skills are those personal attributes, attitudes, and communication methods that enable people to have high quality interpersonal interactions.  Softs skills have been the “red-headed step child” of the C-Suite leaders for a long time.  They have been dismissed and/or ignored because they were thought to be unimportant or even unnecessary to get results and getting results is what the C-Suite wants.

Since the middle of the 19th century, with the rise of the industrial age, leaders with knowledge and education usually rose to the top of organizations.   They organized work in their companies to make it easier to control behaviors.  The fundamental premise behind this approach was “the primary cause of problems is the dereliction of duty” by individual workers.  Individuals needed to be managed (controlled) to prevent mistakes and to maintain high productivity.  Control the individual and you can control the organization.  The purpose of the organizational chart is to sufficiently specify those duties so that management can quickly assign blame, should a mistake occur.

This approach took on a militaristic tone, which is not surprising because retired military officers had great influence on the leadership of early businesses.  New businesses relied on the technical and managerial contributions of engineers.  One of the few and certainly the best source of engineering education in the US was the US Military Academy at West Point.

Our economy has evolved.  Competition is global and more intense.  We need everyone to have knowledge not just a few concentrated at the top.  We can no longer control behaviors from the top and remain competitive. Soft skills are needed more than ever. (Boris Groysberg, 2011)  Our “redheaded step child” must be fully welcomed into the family!  There are three specific reasons why everyone, especially leaders, must develop their soft skills.

Reason #1: Employee engagement is a competitive advantage

Employee engagement is a highly desirable measure of organization performance today.  Employee engagement is emotional response employees feel that causes them to exert extra discretionary effort into their work without bribes or threats.  Employee engagement can only exist when employees are treated with respect, listened to, and trusted.  Unless leaders know how to use soft skills, such as effective listening, expressing empathy, and treating people with respect (avoid bullying) in all communications they will unknowingly be damaging employee engagement.  Leaders without soft skills unknowingly damage performance of their staff and their organization.

Reason #2: Employees must feel safe to offer new ideas

New ideas are the life blood of a growing enterprise.  New ideas and innovation can only be generated by employees in a safe environment.  Leaders who understand soft skills can consistently create that safe work environment.

Daniel Goleman, the author of Emotional Intelligence and Primal Leadership clarifies.  Those leaders who can use soft skills to influence good moods with employees will create an environment of innovation. (Goleman, 1995)

Reason #3: Productivity improvement must come from leveraging knowledge and tasks

Productivity in our country has consistently improved in the last 30 years.  This improvement has helped us grow our wealth and improve our lives.  Productivity growth is slowing because much of the gains have been with major leaps in technology that have helped us all work longer hours and/or more days per week.  We are now able to work 24-7 because technology allows us to stay connected regardless of where we are or what we are doing. I don’t know about you, but I can’t work any more hours without becoming exhausted or even psychotic.  Growth will still come from technology but we need more growth to maintain our living standards.

To boost productivity and profitability leaders must leverage their knowledge and allow employees the ability and opportunity to self-manage.  Self-management requires high levels of trust.  Leaders who can create trust quickly and maintain it will boost productivity.  Improvements in trust require soft skills.

Our economy has evolved and so our leaders and their skills must evolve with it. Soft skills are more important today because the knowledge economy has arrived and the industrial age is waning.   Leaders need soft skills to make the adjustment.  Soft skills cannot be learned with just training classes.  Leaders must create environments that encourage the use of soft skills.  They must receive feedback from peers and employees and they must heed that feedback and adjust their behaviors accordingly.

Wally Hauck, PhD has a cure for the “deadly disease” known as the typical performance appraisal.  Wally holds a doctorate in organizational leadership from Warren National University, a Master of Business Administration in finance from Iona College, and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.   Wally is a Certified Speaking Professional or CSP.  Wally has a passion for helping leaders let go of the old and embrace new thinking to improve leadership skills, employee engagement, and performance.

Boris Groysberg, L. K. (2011). The New Path to the C-Suite. Harvard Business Review.

Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. NY NY: Bantam Books.

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Best Practices Leadership Marketing Skills

How I Wrote a Book in 6 Months

It’s been a labor of love for sure! After a year and a half of thinking and talking about writing a book, I finally did it. However, I didn’t go about it alone or without a few hiccups. If any of you have ever thought about writing a book, I am going to share with you a few tips I have learned along the way.

How It Began

In May I attended The C-Suite Network Conference in Dallas, TX. As with any conference, the people you meet are the true fruit you take away. I was happy to connect with old friends such as Kathleen Caldwell and to meet a new one, Julie Ann Sullivan. During this event, The C-Suite Network held a book signing event with select authors that are part of the C-Suite Book Club. Kathleen, Julie Ann, and I were visiting with author and international business speaker, Phil M. Jones. He shared with us his one book that gets him the most traction. It is a quick-read and was less than 100 pages. The three of us looked at each other and said “we can do that. That doesn’t seem so insurmountable.” And The Publishing Divas were born.

Our Commitment

The Publishing Divas made a commitment to each other that we would each write a book and have it done by December. That gave us six months! First came structure. We held a Zoom call every other week. The first couple of calls we created a timeline with deadlines. Deadlines included when to have our book outlines completed, the writing phase, the edit phase, and the launch phase. There were times when we would each be behind our target timeline. Although it may have seemed disappointing, the point we each had to remember was we were still moving forward, even if it felt like one of us was stuck or behind. We were a lot further ahead than those just sitting around talking about writing a book. The commitment and accountability of the Zoom calls, which turned to weekly towards the last third of our phase, was the number one reason why we all feel our book writing was successful.

Phil M. Jones stayed in close contact with us to ensure we had everything we needed to be successful. His encouragement and sincere interest in our efforts continued to inspire us towards the finish line.

Shiny Objects

I won’t lie to you. There were many “shiny object” distraction moments for each of us. It is amazing how many things you can find to do versus sitting down to write. Honestly, writing does not come easy for me. In fact, in many ways, it is struggle and feels overwhelming. I tend to freeze up looking at a blank page.

One of the reasons I wanted to write a book, was not only to build my personal brand, but it was to help improve my writing skills. I knew it would be grueling, but as with most things in life, you have to go through it to get better at it. Personally, I had to set the timer on my cell phone for 30 minutes. I would look at my book outline and pick one of the items on there that moved me at the time. It didn’t have to flow in order. I would write in topic chunks.

After the setting the timer, I would make myself write whatever came into my mind for 30 minutes without stopping … without stopping to make sure the sentence structure was right, without stopping to make any grammar edits, without stopping to change word choices. I just typed what came into my head and knew I would edit later. This was freeing to me. Although the first couple of times, 30 minutes seemed like FOREVER. I remember typing away the first few times and thinking to myself it certainly has to be close to 30 minutes, and I looked over at my cell phone and I was only 7 minutes into the writing time! But it got easier. And it will for you as well. You can use this approach to not only write a book, but a blog or a LinkedIn article. Writing in 30 minute chunks is not overwhelming (well, the first couple of times for me it was, but it does get easier, I promise!).

Sharing Resources

We also shared with each other resources from how to get your ISBN number to graphic designers to publishers and everything in between. The more we shared with each other, the more valuable insight we all gleaned. We each brought a different personality and strength to the group. We were truly in it together. That is what made this process so successful. We wanted to see each other succeed, and we helped each other with any challenges. We have formed a bond that is unshakable and have created a lifelong friendship.

Book Launch

Six months from the moment we started the process we had our book launch in New York City in conjunction with The C-Suite Network Advisors Thought Summit. We stood proudly by our books as we visited with the Advisors and some family and friends who came to share in this celebration. The C-Suite Network staff and community have been most gracious in the entire process. Without their support and insight, I would still be staring a blank page. The support continues with many asking how may I help you promote your book. It truly is a community where we want each other to succeed by offering the gifts, strengths, and wisdom that have been bestowed onto us and sow them into the lives of others.

I hope you have found my book writing journey an inspiration in some way to you. One’s mindset really sets you up to succeed. I want nothing more than to see you all achieving optimum results in whatever your heart desires. You are worth it!

I help executives create a powerful image and brand so they look and feel confident wherever they are. Contact me at sheila@imagepowerplay.com to schedule a 20-minute call to discuss how we can work together to grow your visibility through my return on image® services.

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Growth Health and Wellness Technology

Digital Transformation Drives Strange Bedfellows

The dust is clearing on the recent announcement that CVS is acquiring Aetna in a deal that surprised many observers. But it shouldn’t surprise you, if you have been paying attention to the way digital transformation is creating new threats and opportunities in formerly staid industries.

Aetna is in the health insurance business and has been trying to get bigger, but regulators have turned down that approach in recent years. So, for Aetna, it makes sense that, if you can’t acquire and you are concerned about competing at your current size, you would agree to be acquired.

What surprised people was who the acquirer was, because people still think of CVS as a retail chain. CVS is indeed a retail chain and it is clearly making this move because Amazon (and to a lesser extent, Walmart) are within striking distance of a broad attack on specialized retailers, such as drug stores. While many retailers are shrinking amidst this onslaught, CVS has an option to pivot from pure retail to healthcare, where it might be a lot easier to compete with a physical presence.

CVS has been sprinkling its MinuteClinic urgent care facilities in many of its retail locations and has become a powerhouse in the drug coverage market with Caremark, so adding Aetna  makes a lot more sense for a healthcare company that happens to have a retail presence. If that, in fact, seems like what Amazon is becoming, with its recent acquisition of Whole Foods, maybe that’s no mistake.

A joke has been circulating in recent years as to whether Amazon can become Walmart faster than Walmart can become Amazon. CVS has evidently heard that joke and beaten Amazon to the punch (line). CVS already has a deal with the Cleveland Clinic to provide a platinum option for the very best care that can be delivered through telemedicine. If Amazon jumps in, don’t be surprised to see clinics in Whole Foods with telemedicine options, too.

It would be one thing if this were all happening just to cut costs, but it is really the patient experience that is driving the changes every bit as much as cost. When you are sick, you don’t want to call the doctor and hope for an appointment during business hours. You want to make an appointment 24×7 as easily as you summon an Uber car and get your prescription at the same place you get your diagnosis. That’s the new experience that is possible already for minor problems. What CVS is betting is that major problems that need more than a nurse practitioner can be handled through in-network doctors and high-end specialist through telemedicine with the nurse practitioner right there to assist. Instead of being referred to a specialist, maybe they can summon a specialist on your first appointment.

Now there is a lot to be worked out, but you can see the direction it is going in. Healthcare is likely to be a very interesting space in the next few years. All the local practices have been bought up by the hospital health care networks who have bet heavily on local providers as though the current model will last forever and they just need to lower prices. My guess is the retailers will bet more on a low-cost MinuteClinic model with in-network doctors (like Aetna’s networks) and a high end telemedicine model. Over time, there should be considerable price pressure on the hospital networks getting squeezed in between.

If you’re not in healthcare or retail, maybe you think you’re off the hook. Guess again. The kinds of pressures causing these cross-industry mergers are the very essence of what digital transformation causes. If you aren’t staring down your customer experience and asking how digital can change the game, you are just waiting for someone else to disrupt you.

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Marketing Personal Development

How to Use Conflations to Negotiate More Effectively

“Conflation in a negotiation can be the bridge that leads you to the discovery of success”. –Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

When you negotiate, do you consider how you can tie (conflate) your point to prior or current situations that the opposing negotiator already holds as being valid? Conflation for the point of this negotiation strategy is the act of associating two or more thoughts that link your perspective to one the opposing negotiator views as having validity. Conflation can be used in any phase of the negotiation.

The way to use conflation is to draw the attention of the opposing negotiator to a point he’ll immediately recognize as being valid. This can be something that is or has been in the news recently or any source that he believes to be valid. If you can’t direct his attention to such a point via something that’s current, search for something in his past that he’ll agree to as being valid; something that’s closer to your current negotiation time frame will have more sway with him and impact him more. Then, mention how your point is tied to that occurrence and allow him the time to mentally let that association seep into his mind. When such has occurred (watch his body language to gain insight that it has occurred), ask him if he sees the logic in your point. If he says he doesn’t ‘get it’, be sure that he’s not ‘playing dumb’ (different negotiation strategy to be aware of), and seek to clarify his lack of comprehension until he ‘gets the point’.

Conflation is a tactic that sounds overly simple to utilize and therein lies why it’s is so effective. The other negotiator has already made the mental connection to the point that you’ve highlighted as being valid, which becomes more difficult to deny or argue against, since he’s accepted it as being valid. Thus, it’s a logical step for him to connect your point to the position you’ve adopted, which gives your point more validity in his mind.

To become more dynamic at the negotiation table, always consider how you can conflate points that are perceived as being valid, with the points you’re attempting to make. Once the opposing negotiator senses the validity of your conflated points, he’ll be more apt to accept it and feel a kinship with it. After all, the subliminal thought is the fact that you’ve shown the viability of your point that he’s already accepted as being valid from another source. For him to deny such, he’d be arguing with himself. That alone would make the score two against one (i.e. him and his faulty logic against you). Thus, by using conflation in your negotiations, you position yourself to win more negotiations … and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

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Best Practices Growth Human Resources Management Skills Women In Business

Beating the Top 3 Bad Speaking Habits

Recently we identified three of the most common bad speaking habits. Knowing what the problems are is the first step toward breaking those habits. But once you know what to look for, how to do you make a change for the better?

Here’s the key to making real, positive change: Record yourself. Start by recording yourself talking for a couple of minutes in different contexts, whether on the phone, at a meeting, or in casual conversation. It doesn’t need to be long – the way you speak in the first minute or two is most likely how you speak for the rest of the conversation. (If someone asks, assure them you’re trying to improve your communication skills, that the recording is confidential, and that you will only be listening to your own contributions in the recording.)

If possible, video record yourself – even if it’s just when you’re on the phone – so you get the full picture. Otherwise, audio-only is fine.

Once you have made your recording, here are three things to look/listen for:

The first is fillers, or crutch words. See how many unnecessary words sneak into your speech, chopping it up. The first time you hear a “ya know,” “I mean,” “like,” “um,” or an unnecessary “actually,” add it to the list. Then every time you hear it repeated, make a check mark next to it on the list. It will show you two things: first, is how chopped up your points become, which makes it more difficult to comprehend for the listener. And second, is your preferences, which fillers you gravitate towards, and when you tend to use them.

The second is run-on sentences. Don’t think you’re guilty? Transcribe your recording to see if I’m wrong. How many real, honest-to-goodness periods did you “hear” and write? Did you hear a pause or a drop in pitch indicating the genuine end of a sentence, or was everything connected with “and,” “but” or “so,” separated by a litany of commas? Don’t write what it should look like; be honest with yourself.

Take note also of how run-on sentences affected your breathing and voice. As your sentences got longer, did you run out of breath and start to sound gravelly and weak? Make sure your sentences end as strong as they begin. This should give you some insight about how better organization and more pauses would improve the power of your message.

The third is to check your facial expressions, which is much easier with video. At what points do you look annoyed, uncertain or anxious? Do you frown, touch your face, smile nervously or furrow your eyebrows? Be honest about what impression it makes when you see it.

Try “resetting” your face from time to time by raising your eyebrows and letting them drop into place, and stretching your mouth into a wide yawn, then releasing and closing it, to return to a neutral expression. If your face is more relaxed physically, it will result in sounding more relaxed vocally, rounding out and reinforcing the impression you make on everyone else.

Regardless of what habits you think you have, experiment with a recording or two, just to be sure. (You know what they say about what happens when you “assume” things.) The new clarity you gain will be the first and most critical step toward breaking any old habits, and developing new ones that reinforce your vision and leadership.

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Do you have questions or comments about how to beat back your bad speaking habits? If so, contact me at laura@vocalimpactproductions.com or click here to schedule a 20-minute focus call to discuss them with me personally!

 

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Best Practices Growth Management Personal Development Technology

Building Integrity – The Glue of the Cybersecurity Team

So far we have discussed Engagement and Productivity, the first two pillars of an EPICC high performance team. Let’s continue exploring how to create an EPICC high performance security team, and look at the third pillar, Integrity. Integrity is the glue that holds an engaged and productive team together.

My two favorites definitions of integrity are doing the right thing even when no one is looking and doing what you say you will do long after the feeling you said it with has passed. That last one is what happens when, for example, you ask your friend to help you move and they say, “Sure anything to help…” but then the day comes to help you the last thing they want to do is move boxes and furniture. The person with integrity does it anyway because they said they would.

When members of a team have a what’s in it for me attitude, i.e. a lack of integrity, the team does not get very far. When it comes specifically to a security team, that is downright dangerous. In the world of cyber security, the team has to work well together if you want to stay ahead of the adversary. And if you don’t think you have any adversaries, remember that mistakes and errors internally can cause just as much damage to your organization. Your security team is on the front lines to prevent this and catch the errors or mistakes before they become costly or irreversible.

Your role in ensuring a team with integrity is to create an environment that establishes and supports integrity, and you do this by building a strong community. We have all seen what is possible when communities come together, whether after a natural disaster like a tornado, hurricane, or fire; or after a terrorist attack or violent incident. We have seen what is possible when neighbors help neighbors and the sense of community is strong. We have also seen the flip side with riots and looting that occur when a community is not strong and has a weak sense of integrity among its neighbors.

A community for your team means that everyone works together and no one is thinking what’s in it for me. When one member has a problem it is everyone’s problem, and that means the personal stuff gets addressed too. Because when someone is having trouble at home or outside of work it affects him or her at work. When they can come to work and know that it is safe to discuss with you or the team their focus will improve and so will their productivity.

No one wants to come to work and feel alone or worse suffer in silence, but people need to know it’s safe to share the personal stuff and the work stuff without fear of retribution, judgment, or scorn. You have to build this environment, set the rules of engagement, and make sure everyone knows where, when, and how to address the personal stuff and what will and won’t be tolerated, then lead by example.

Think about those communities where neighbors help neighbors and people have integrity. These Communities have greater property values, good schools, safe streets, and community activity. A team with high integrity members can get more accomplished, see problems ahead of time and bring projects in on time and on budget more easily. That brings value to the organization, which equates to your team having a high property value. When you provide continuing education you are offering good schools, the ability to share problems in a safe space is a safe neighborhood, and community activities means doing things outside of work from time to time. All of this helps build community and results in a high integrity and high performance team.

A low value community is rife with violence, low property values, lack of safety, and often are partly driven by fear. When this is the community of your team the violence shows up as in-fighting, backstabbing, and manipulation. When there is a lack of safety, people don’t share ideas, much less personal problems or challenges they are having with their work. All of this results in a team that does not work well together and ends up with a low property value within the organization.

Your security team is one of these two types of communities: they either have a high or low value within the organization, which will greatly depend on the type of community you have created. Start a conversation with your team about community, get to know your people, treat them with respect, and ask that they do the same. When you see something that might lead to a low value community, speak up and have the tough conversation about what needs to change. Lead by example and keep moving the team forward. Your security team is up against a lot of adversity as they protect your organization from faceless attackers, errors, and mistakes. They often only get feedback when something has gone wrong and rarely hear job well done. In order to keep them working together and in the right direction, integrity is going to be the glue that holds it all together.

If you have questions or comments about this article or the series you can reach out to me at sharon@c-suiteresults.com to discuss this topic, security teams, or security strategy. If you enjoy podcasts you can listen to C-Suite Success Radio to tap into the wisdom of other successful business people who know the path you’re traveling.

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Marketing Personal Development

11 (Pain Free) Marketing Tips for Business

Marketing, yuck!  The daunting task of selling your products, your services, your brand…yourself.  You went into business not because you are a natural sales person but because you are good in your specific industry.  The sad reality is that in order to be a successful entrepreneur, you must also be a successful marketer.  You may have the best business in the world but it means nothing if no one has heard of it.  If the idea of sales makes you shudder, read these pain free tips for marketing your business.

  1. Start Posting More on Social Media

Want to get some buzz on your page? Posting updates, links, photos, and retweeting is the best way to organically generate interest on your page. If you are having trouble coming up with ideas, do some market research and look at what your competitors post on their social media pages. A few posts a week is a good start.

  1. Join Relevant Facebook & LinkedIn Groups

Joining groups on social media introduces you to new people and helps you target potential customers. Use LinkedIn’s search function to find the groups most relevant to you. People often use groups to pose questions or ask for advice. This is where you can demonstrate your skills and expertise but don’t be too salesy. Remember, you want to add value and help people, but you must also be patient. If you provide solutions to people on a regular basis, you will be top of mind and they will look to you for advice in the future.

  1. Start a Blog

According to Entrepreneur, a blog is a place where you find your customers, feed them information, and position your value. You have a lot of knowledge that could help people. Write about your business, your customers, and frequent problems customers have that you can shed light on. Think about the kinds of things your customers would want to read or that they would look up and create posts on those topics.

  1. Write a Guest Post on Another Blog

Don’t have the time to make your own blog?  Submit a guest article on someone else’s blog. Many bloggers accept guest content so just email them and ask. (For example, http://brainhackers.com/contributorguidelines/ looks for contributing writers all the time!) Find a blog with an audience similar to the demographic you are looking for. Make sure that the host blogger includes a link to your company website in the post. This is called a “back link” which over time this improves your SEO (search engine optimization.) The more places your website link is posted, the easier it is for people to find you via Google, Yahoo, Bing, and other search engines.

 

  1. YouTube Ads

Running YouTube ads is a great way to get your message in front of a target audience and it may also help your SEO. (Google owns YouTube, so these videos are often ranked high in the search algorithm.) Google makes it incredibly easy to set up and monitor ads. For more info check HERE.

  1. Be a Guest on a Podcast

Much like writing a guest blog post, this will you get your message in front of a new group people and will only take an hour out of your day. How do you become a guest on a podcast? Simply contact the host and ask. Do NOT be overly salesy with the podcast host because you will be offered paid ad space instead of a free guest spot.  Rather than selling them on your product or service, sell the information and value you will provide to their audience.

  1. Optimize your Site for SEO

Does your website show up on the first page of a Google search…or the tenth? Did you know there are often simple things you can do to improve your ranking? For example. some things that affect your website SEO are the quantity and quality of photos used, the titles and descriptions of your pages, the way the pages are categorized, etc. Not sure where to begin?  Check out this article in Forbes for some tips to improve the SEO of your business.

  1. Create A Yelp Listing

Many businesses grow through word-of-mouth marketing and Yelp is the digital version of this. Customers turn to Yelp more than any other site to make buying decisions so it should be an essential part of your online portfolio. First check to see if you are already on Yelp. (The platform pulls information from different places so you may be without realizing it.) For more information on how to optimize and manage your Yelp listing click HERE.

  1. Offer a Free Giveaway

Everyone loves free stuff. This is a great way to get customers familiar with your brand. It can also help you build a mailing list of contacts. Offer a free download on your website (like a tip sheet or a report) that you must opt in to receive. Discount your service on Groupon and post on Facebook about the sale.

  1. Get Press

Getting your name to appear in the media raises brand awareness and it also builds credibility. Unlike advertising which immediately puts people on the defense (no one likes to be “sold”) earned media frames you as an expert and allows you talk about your brand in a discreet way that is much more effective for making sales and building brand advocates. Check HARO for media requests, send an opinion editorial piece to publications, or you can outsource the work to a professional PR team.

  1. Host a Webinar

Webinars are a way to build trust with customers/leads and help you demonstrate your expertise. Your webinar should provide useful information around your subject area. For ideas, you can look at what other people in your industry have done in the past. (Yes, someone has done a webinar on your topic, and if you search you will find it.)

 

 

Categories
Growth Management Personal Development

Trust Is Essential for the Health of an Organization – Part 4

This final blog in a four-part series about trust is important because every C-Suite leader needs to accept responsibility for creating environment that makes it safe to tell the truth and safe to trust. Managing the variation in trust within an organization must be everyone’s responsibility but the C-Suite leader needs to make it possible. And, I am very sorry to say many are not.

It’s still too easy for C-Suite leaders to blame their people for results that don’t meet expectations and/or budget.  What is the C-Suite leadership contribution to the poor results? If trust is less than optimal, that leader needs to withhold any blame. The ability to meet expected results starts in the C-Suite. The responsibility of managing the variation in trust (which leads to the desired results) starts in the C-Suite.

“Quality starts in the boardroom.”

-Dr. W. Edwards Deming

THINK – BEHAVE – IMPROVE (TBI) is a set of ideas which help us to appreciate how an optimum leader thinks, how an optimum leader behaves and how an optimum leader acts to improve the system within which they operate.  In this blog we will expand and clarify the IMPROVE portion of the structure.

“Where the rubber meets the road” is a popular phrase that means ‘there is a point where a theory is applied’.  In part 2 of this series we discussed ‘systems thinking’.  We identified ‘systems thinking’ as the desired leadership theory for optimum trust. In part 3 of this series we identified certain behavior required by leaders who want to demonstrate trust.  The rubber meets the road in this blog because we answer these questions:  What does a leader do when there is a mistake and/or poor results? How does that leader facilitate improvement?  What does that leader do to protect trust and address the problem?

We need a problem-solving model that addresses problems and still protects trust.  C-Suite leaders need a problem-solving model that gives them total confidence the problem will be solved without them needing to get in the middle and micro-manage.  As stated earlier, C-Suite responsibility lies in creating an environment which optimizes people to tell the truth, to manage trust, and optimally address problems.  A ‘systems thinker’ asks ‘system’ questions.  They avoid asking blame questions.

As in most situations in life, when we see a problem and it needs to be resolved, there are often two choices, an easy choice and the difficult choice.  One easy choice is to absolve ourselves from the problem.  When a leader blames their people for the problem they are absolving themselves from all responsibility and that does nothing for trust.

Another easy choice is to solve it quickly and hope it doesn’t return.  Matchbooks have been around since the late 1800’s.  The first ones had the striking strip on the front of the book along with a warning “Close cover before striking”. Careless consumers would often catch the entire book on fire because the other matches were easily exposed to a spark when one match was struck.  The warning was an ‘easy’ way to solve the problem.  It put the responsibility on the consumer to follow instructions and to be careful doing it.

It wasn’t until 1962 that a true resolution was found.  The manufacturers moved the striking strip to the back of the match book thus preventing a spark from igniting the other matches.  This was a true resolution to a problem. The resolution was not an easy one to create. It required thought and a change in the manufacturing process.  It required innovation and an investment in time and money.  It required thought and a predictable problem-solving method.  This method is known as Plan-Do-Check-Act or the Scientific method or the Learning Cycle.

The learning cycle can be traced back at least as far as Galileo who developed the idea of making observations, creating a hypothesis and then conducting an experiment. Edison used the method to test 6,000 materials before finding the one that proved to be most practical and cost effective for the filament for a light-bulb.

Plan-Do-Check-Act is the recommended problem-solving method for leaders who want to protect trust.  It requires the creation of an action PLAN including the steps of knowing what to improve, the identification of the current condition of the problem, and how to measure the success.

The DO portion is carrying out the plan. DO is about carrying out the planned experiment. The CHECK portion is about analyzing the data to see if the hypothesis was correct.  The ACT portion is about deciding to either revise the hypothesis, to revise the method, or to adopt the method just tested.  The adoption of Plan-Do-Check-Act creates an environment where blame is unnecessary.  Every member of a team can contribute their ideas and their effort to experimenting with new hypotheses and with new methods.

Adopting PDCA makes problem-solving a fun exercise that enrolls everyone.  It creates engagement and improved quality for customers.  PDCA allows for organizations to avoid the use of the typical performance appraisal because the focus becomes the experiment and avoids the evaluation of the individual.  It leads to great ideas like moving the striking strip.  The adoption of PDCA starts with the C-Suite and that is why “Quality starts in the boardroom.”

Wally Hauck, PhD has a cure for the “deadly disease” known as the typical performance appraisal.  Wally holds a doctorate in organizational leadership from Warren National University, a Master of Business Administration in finance from Iona College, and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.   Wally is a Certified Speaking Professional or CSP.  Wally has a passion for helping leaders let go of the old and embrace new thinking to improve leadership skills, employee engagement, and performance.