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Tag: employee engagement

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Growth Management Personal Development

The Leadership Tip That Could Save YOU and Your Team

Just last night, I learned that one of my clients had a serious workplace accident, probably caused by an employee working distracted (thankfully, the worker survived with relatively minor injuries). If you’ve turned on your smartphone, your television, or opened your web browser today to read this article, you’ve heard about car accidents, fires, and other tragedies, often caused by … rushing and distractions.

The fact is, certain times of year are more hectic and even chaotic than others. As a leader, your task is to help your team to remain focused on the really important things. On any given day, though, we are inundated with so much stimuli it can be difficult to finish a thought, much less a task. Team members need your leadership, coaching, support, and guidance to navigate through the sea of information and stimuli. Here are a few

Executive leadership tips to save you and your team:

Slow down. I know. You don’t want to hear it. It even may seem impossible. How could you slow down? As we barrel through our days at breakneck speed, it can be difficult to notice what is going on around us. Of course, this is how accidents and mistakes happen. As an executive leader, you also need to pause long enough to notice and “hear” not only what people are saying, but what they are NOT saying. Keep in mind that everyone experiences stress differently and you want to tune-in to body language as well as words.

Establish guiding principles, values, and priorities through which your team should filter all of the distractions bombarding them. Author Stephen Covey says that we should not just prioritize our schedules, but we should schedule our priorities. Figure out what is most important, share these priorities with your team (don’t assume they know), and then help your team to focus on those priorities like a laser.

Let go. For my fellow control freaks, I know this can be tough. Recognize that you cannot – and should not – do it all yourself. Learn to delegate more effectively. Objectively consider (gasp!), if some tasks have to be done at all.

Reflect. Even if it means setting the alarm to go off a little earlier in the morning, schedule yourself some time to process and “metabolize” your experiences and plans. Stepping back from the day-to-day can help you and your team to see your way forward more clearly. (Personally, I find that journaling helps tremendously with this process.)

So the key takeaway? That one tip that might save you, your business, and/or your team, is to . . you guessed it . . slow down. Breathe and have some boundaries. They may seem simple, but we could all use a reminder from time to time. As a business owner, and busy wife and mom, I have to work on these practices every day. Like the song says, “Slow down, you move too fast… and you may even get to … feelin’ groovy!”

JOIN IN: 

  • What would you add to this list of leadership tips?
  • What strategies do you use to create greater focus and ensure safety for yourself and your team?
  • Please leave a comment on my blog below and share your insights with the community.

To receive solutions to your people problems in your inbox every month, and to receive our report: “7 of Your Biggest People Problems…Solved,” click here.

You might also like:

Leadership Team Accelerated Results Program

6 Leadership Lessons to Learn from Cajuns

Take 6 New Angles to Find Team Opportunities

Jennifer Ledet, CSP, is a leadership consultant and professional speaker (with a hint of Cajun flavor) who equips leaders from the boardroom to the mailroom to improve employee engagement, teamwork, and communication.  In her customized programs, leadership retreats, keynote presentations, and breakout sessions, she cuts through the BS and talks through the tough stuff to solve your people problems

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Growth Management Personal Development

To Be an Influential Leader – Use Your Inside Voice

We’ve all heard of leaders who yell, coerce, and even threaten to fire employees. (Cough, cough. Steve Jobs.) I was working with a group of leaders in the banking industry recently, and we had a great conversation about this old-school school style of leadership where the leader wields power over his subordinates and demands obedience.  The fact is that with the command and control style of leadership, at best you’ll get compliance, but you will never get commitment.

There is another method of gaining commitment that is much more subtle – and waay more effective. It’s called influence.

I loved summertime when my kiddos were little. That was when the shoes came off, the bathing suits came out, and the whole neighborhood was playing in my backyard. On the rare occasion when the gang came inside, (usually because of a summer thunderstorm), it sounded like a mob scene. The sound was so deafening, I thought the windows would shatter. Invariably, I had to remind them all to use their inside voices.

To influence, use your inside voice. It’s more gentle, it’s less in your face, and more subtle. Now I may be showing my age, but do you remember the old E.F. Hutton commercials? The tagline was “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.” Influence is about causing someone to want to lean in, to learn more, to listen closer.

Executive leaders today complain about the millennial generation and their perceived lack of respect or loyalty. Well, I’m not going to open that can of worms today, (you can read my views on this subject in previous blog posts here). But I will submit to you that the millennials are not alone in that most people will jump ship at the first opportunity if the work culture is, well, craptacular.

We are human, and it really all boils down to the fact that everything except breathing is a choice. Your team member has a choice of whether or how she will show up for work each day. I know, you’re saying, but Jen, if my team member doesn’t show up for work, she’s out of a job. True dat! But it’s still her choice.

And keep in mind what I affectionately call the KLT Factor – the Know, Like, and Trust Factor. People do business with people they know, like, and trust. People buy from people they know, like, and trust. And people follow leaders they know, like, and trust. You can’t force someone to buy from you or to follow you any more than you can force someone to love you.

So if you want to HAVE influence, you have to first BE the kind of person that others choose to follow. You have to be the kind of person that people want to be around and even emulate. Now, while using your inside voice, try these tips to help you

Be the influential leader those around you know, like, and trust:

1. Give them a present. In case you haven’t noticed, we live in a noisy, bizzy world, and your presence could be the best gift you can give to your team. Wherever you are, be there. Put. The. Phone. Down.

2. Be interested. Dale Carnegie got it right when he said “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.” Here’s a news flash: It’s not about you!

3. Ask great questions. And by great questions, I mean open-ended questions that can’t be answered with a yes, no, or a one-word response. A good place to start is by asking questions that elicit a team member’s thoughts, ideas, and suggestions about their work.

4. Use the Mirror Technique. Notice the other person’s communication style and mirror it back to him. I liken this to speaking his “language.” It’s a much more effective way for communicating to connect.

5. Know thyself. The fact is, before you can lead others, you must be able to lead yourself. That’s why, whether I’m working with individual contributors/team members or C-suite executives, we start off with a battery of self-assessments so that we can identify each individual’s strengths, weaknesses, style, and behavioral preferences. The data collected from the assessments helps us to build on strengths and know in what areas the leader needs some help.

6. Project self-confidence. Notice I didn’t say always be self-confident. Insecurity and fear are contagious, and so is confidence. Sure, sometimes you won’t feel completely self-assured, but it is important that your team sees you as calm, confident, and in control. When you experience turbulence on a flight, if the flight attendant is freaking out, passengers will likely follow suit. Same thing applies in your leadership role. Team members are watching you and will mirror your attitude.

7. Practice authenticity and sincerity. People can spot a phony baloney a mile away. Faking interest in someone else just so you can get something you want borders on manipulation, and that is definitely NOT what we’re talking about here.

If you want to amplify your influence as an executive leader, try these techniques with your team. I’d love to hear about your results.

To receive solutions to your people problems in your inbox every month, and to receive our report: “7 of Your Biggest People Problems…Solved,” click here.

You might also like:

Take 6 New Angles to Find Team Opportunities

Leadership Team Accelerated Results Program

6 Leadership Lessons to Learn from Cajuns

Jennifer Ledet, CSP, is a leadership consultant and professional speaker (with a hint of Cajun flavor) who equips leaders from the boardroom to the mailroom to improve employee engagement, teamwork, and communication.  In her customized programs, leadership retreats, keynote presentations, and breakout sessions, she cuts through the BS and talks through the tough stuff to solve your people problems

Photo by Anca Brinzan on Reshot

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Growth Leadership Personal Development

Using the Golden Rule to be a Better Leader

In a recent C-Suite Success Radio interview, my guest Don Barden and I were discussing Servant Leadership. In that discussion the golden rule came up and Don told me that we have translated it incorrectly all these years. What he told me is a real game changer for becoming a better leader.

When we are young we learn that the golden rule says to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Don explained that the correct translation, and the one that you must use if you are to be a servant leader is to do unto others as they would want you to do unto them.

That means you treat them how they want to be treated, not how you want to be treated. I thought that was brilliant, especially in the context of work because it lines up with one of my strong beliefs that people do best and are the most engaged when given the opportunity to do the work that means the most to them, and when empowered to do it in the way that they want to do it.

For example, I love public speaking and cherish the opportunities, which means if I did unto others as I want done onto me I would offer a speaking opportunity to someone else under the original understanding of the golden rule. But if they hate public speaking I am not actually giving them something they want, I am giving them something I want. I have to know what is important to them so I can give them what they want.

I have a friend who loves spreadsheets and would be less motivated if I asked her to do something creative like write an article, which is what I would want someone to ask me to do. If she asked me to do the spreadsheet work because that is what she likes I would be miserable pretty fast.

This translates into how we treat our friends, family, and, in the context of business, our co-workers and employees. True servant leadership – or in all actuality, true leadership – means finding out what the people on your team like the most, what role suits them best, and do everything you can to provide that to them. It’s not always possible for everyone to love every minute and every aspect of their job, but the more you can honor them, the more you can serve their needs, the better the results and engagement will be.

Your assignment, if you choose to take it, is to learn one new thing about each member of your team or your family that will allow you to serve them better. Start giving to them in the way they want rather than based on what you would want them to give to you.

If you do this from a place of true curiosity you will see amazing results very quickly. I would love to hear about your experiment, and you can connect with me on LinkedIn or email me at sharon@c-suiteresults.com.

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Growth Leadership Personal Development

Why Executive Leaders Cannot Motivate Anyone

In other words, I am responsible to you, as participants to provide information and a safe, interactive learning environment. But, I am not responsible for what you do with that information. You are responsible for your own actions. You can decide whether you will actively participate. You will decide whether you will actually take action on what you learn.

The same approach should be applied by leaders, executives, and managers. You are responsible to your team – to lead, guide, and coach them, but ultimately, each team member will choose what actions he or she will take.

Although it may seem counterintuitive, I have a newsflash for executive leaders:

You cannot motivate anyone.

You cannot put motivation into another team member or employee. And that’s because all people are already motivated. You, as an executive leader, are charged with tapping into that internal, intrinsic motivation. Rather than trying to put something in that you think was left out, your job is to draw out what was left in.

How to tap into internal motivation:

Get to know the individuals on your team. Before diving deep, you may start off with some basic conversation. Since that is easier said than done for some, check out this article to help you get started.

Find out what their motivations are. For some, it might be money. For others, it might be recognition.  Some people get a huge amount of satisfaction from helping others. Lots of people enjoy forming a lifestyle where they put family first and are able to spend lots of time with those who matter most in their lives. Others thrive on challenge.

Don’t ignore that all people are tuned into the radio station WIIFM – What’s In It For Me. When trying to influence performance and productivity, help them to see how they can get something beneficial for themselves.

Now you know that, we as executive leaders, unfortunately can’t motivate people. But we can influence, inspire, and persuade them to greater performance.

Your turn:

Have you had any success tapping into your team members’ internal motivations? I’d like to hear your perspective on this important topic. Share your experiences with us!

For more resources on leadership and employee engagement, be sure to sign up for our monthly Ezine and you will receive our report: “7 of Your Biggest People Problems…Solved.”

Related articles you might love:

8 of the Best Kept Leadership Communication Secrets

5 Quick Tips to be a More Influential Leader

Ten Tactics for Leading Through Tough Times

Jennifer Ledet, CSP, is a leadership consultant and professional speaker (with a hint of Cajun flavor) who equips leaders from the boardroom to the mailroom to improve employee engagement, teamwork, and communication.  In her customized programs, leadership retreats, keynote presentations, and breakout sessions, she cuts through the BS and talks through the tough stuff to solve your people problems.

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Growth Management Personal Development

How Leaders Can Tap Into Team’s Internal Motivations

You may have heard the phrase, “Logic makes you think; emotion makes you act.”  As I often do, I thought about the truth of this certain statement in the context of improving leadership skills.

You may be protesting at your computer: But there’s no place for emotion in business! Oh contraire, mon ami!

Hey executive leaders, a big part of what you do is influencing people to perform and produce; to get the job done with and through others. Since you can’t actually motivate people on your own – all people are already motivated for their own reasons – what you can do is tap into their internal motivations. How do you do that?

Imagine your main goal is for your team to work safely and have zero accidents or injuries. You can lecture, preach, and admonish them to work safely until your face turns an unhealthy shade of blue. Or you could tap into their internal motivations. For example, if you’re talking to a family man you could remind him of why he wants to work safely – namely so he can get back home to his family, new baby, etc.

As with anything that produces great results, tapping into emotions and internal motivations of your team members will take a tad more effort on your part. Isn’t that why they pay you the medium-sized bucks? You will have to get to know them and figure out what is important to each individual. If getting to know your team members sounds painful and boring, try a few of these “Southern” questions to ask to keep conversation light and airy. Just by this practice alone you will subsequently increase employee engagement!

As an executive leader, what is your goal? Do you want your tribe to just think about doing something, or do you want them to take action? If taking action, changes in behavior, increased performance and productivity are your goals, I suggest you tap into your team members’ emotions.

CHIME IN:

  • How do you influence people to perform and produce?
  • What technique works for you in getting employees to take action?
  • Please leave a comment below and share your insights with the community.

 

To receive solutions to your people problems in your inbox every month, and to receive our report: “7 of Your Biggest People Problems…Solved,” click here.

You might also like:

Leadership Team Accelerated Results Program

6 Leadership Lessons to Learn from Cajuns

Take 6 New Angles to Find Team Opportunities

Jennifer Ledet, CSP, is a leadership consultant and professional speaker (with a hint of Cajun flavor) who equips leaders from the boardroom to the mailroom to improve employee engagement, teamwork, and communication.  In her customized programs, leadership retreats, keynote presentations, and breakout sessions, she cuts through the BS and talks through the tough stuff to solve your people problems

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Growth Management Personal Development

Executive Leadership Lessons to Learn from Cajuns

What in the world could a senior-level executive leader learn from the down-home bayou-living Cajun people of South Louisiana?

Well, we have certainly endured our share of tough times. We’ve gone through numerous hurricanes, a damaging oil spill, and economic downturns, but now we’re back – better than ever.

First, let us start with a review of an old Cajun adage that is often quoted but maybe less often understood.

Lache Pas La Patate! (Don’t Drop the Potato!)

A modern-day translation might read something like, “Hang in there!” or “Finish strong!”

Successful leaders are resilient and enduring, like the spirit of the Cajun people. In order to be more like the Cajuns,

Apply these lessons to your leadership:

 

Commitment. Through the bad and the good, your team needs a leader who won’t quit, give up, or throw in the towel. Obviously. But your team also needs a leader who won’t waver, doubt, or question your mission and purpose. Are you having second thoughts, or are you holding firm to your mission?

Integrity. Integrity and trust are the foundation of great leadership. If your employees feel that they can’t trust you in one area, then they can’t – and won’t – trust you at all. Are you doing what you say you’ll do and fulfilling your commitments?

Values. Cajuns are known for their strong values regarding community and family. During difficult times everyone comes together and helps each other out. In the storms of adversity in your business, organization, or industry, hold firmly to the values and beliefs that got you where you are. Refuse to compromise your values. Remember, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”

Joie de vivre. (Love of life). Cajuns and the residents of New Orleans need no excuse for a party, and it’s this spirit of fun and lightheartedness that often helps us get through the tough times with our sanity intact. Are you creating an enjoyable work environment of camaraderie and celebration or one of serious melancholy and misery? Remember, you set the tone for your work environment – for better or worse.

Courage. Someone has got to make the tough decisions. Facing the inconvenient, uncomfortable, and unpopular decisions are why they pay you the big bucks! Leadership is not a popularity contest. Do you bury your head in the sand or grab the bull by the horns? And don’t forget, by making no decision, you are, in effect, making a decision.

Hope. Like the Cajuns, effective leaders are dealers in hope. Your outlook has a tremendous impact on those around you. People figure that if you’re spouting gloom and doom, or if you’re projecting optimism about the future, you must be right because you’re in the know. What kind of outlook are you presenting?

As you meet with your team members, as you build and strengthen your business relationships, as you tackle new business challenges, try taking a page from the Cajun’s playbook.

Comment here! What will you:

  • start doing,
  • stop doing, or
  • continue doing or do differently

to be more like the Cajuns? Chime in to share your leadership tips.

To receive solutions to your people problems in your inbox every month, and to receive our report: “7 of Your Biggest People Problems…Solved,” click here.

You might also like:

Leadership Team Accelerated Results Program

12 Powerful Questions to Stash in Your Leadership Toolbox

Leadership Lessons to Push Past Homeostasis

Jennifer Ledet, CSP, is a leadership consultant and professional speaker (with a hint of Cajun flavor) who equips leaders from the boardroom to the mailroom to improve employee engagement, teamwork, and communication.  In her customized programs, leadership retreats, keynote presentations, and breakout sessions, she cuts through the BS and talks through the tough stuff to solve your people problems.

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Growth Leadership Personal Development

7 Ways You Can Spot a Disengaged Employee

Have you seen them? The workplace zombies? The employees slumped over at their desk just merely getting by thanks to a fourth cup of cappuccino? I’m talking about the walking dead – also known as disengaged employees.

You have probably seen them, but just sort of ignored them. The Gallup Organization says that worldwide, disengaged employees out-number engaged employees by nearly 2 – 1.  Even worse, 24% of workers worldwide are “actively disengaged,” which means that they’re unhappy, unproductive, and unlikely to ever bring a ray of sunshine to their co-workers. Actually, they’re most likely going to share their negativity with the rest of the team like a really nasty cold virus.

Employee disengagement is a silent killer of productivity, performance, and thus, profitability.

As an executive leader, NOT seeing these disengaged team members right in front of your face is a huge issue. After all, you can’t address a problem if you don’t even realize it exists. Don’t feel bad – sometimes we’re just too close to the problem. To help you spot the perhaps not-so-obvious, here are

7 Ways You Can Spot a Disengaged Employee:

1. Lack of teamwork. Disengaged employees may resist activities that require collaboration and cooperating with others. Often, they become a “lone wolf,” and interact with team members as little as possible, skipping out on team meetings and project strategy sessions.

2. Declining quality/quantity of work. This is especially an issue when the employee formerly produced high-quality work. The important thing is to notice that his work output has changed for the worst.

3. Complaining. Pay particular attention to negative comments about her work, supervisors, leadership, and the organization as a whole.

4. Apathetic attitude. Unhappy employees have an “I don’t give a hoot” attitude. They have no ownership in team/organization productivity and success.

5. Symptoms of deeper issues, such as depression or psychological problems. These might include unprofessional appearance, erratic mood swings, evidence of possible substance abuse, increased workplace injuries/safety violations, disconnecting from team members and not participating in team meetings and gatherings.

6. Absenteeism/tardiness. Employees who have checked out often do just that. They come into work late and leave early. They call in sick, take all of their vacation/personal days early in the year, and take excessive/long breaks and lunches.

7. Blaming. You know you have a problem when you hear a formerly engaged employee undermining, criticizing, or condemning the work of team members and peers.

These symptoms may seem totally obvious reading them here, but what’s interesting about employee disengagement is that often the immediate supervisor is the last to know when he’s got a raging case of it right in front of him. Maybe it’s because it’s tough to see when you’re so close to the situation. Or maybe you need to have a “sixth sense” to pick up on these symptoms.

Regardless, here are three things you can do now, today, to spot and hopefully rescue any team member who has one foot on a banana peel and the other in the metaphorical grave:

  • Ask open-ended questions, such as “How are things going, Andrew?” or “What do you think about these changes, Lynn?”
  • Shut your trap and listen! Remember that the word ‘listen’ spells ‘silent’ when scrambled.
  • Open your eyes and observe others. What kind of body language are they using? Is it congruent with what they’re saying? Yogi Berra famously quipped, “You can observe a lot just by watching.”

The sooner you act, the more likely you’ll be successful in bringing your “dead” employee back to life. Stay tuned here as I share tips and strategies for getting and keeping your team members engaged and alive.

YOUR TURN:

  • How are you able to spot employee disengagement?
  • How have you addressed the issue of the walking dead?
  • What tips do you have for others who struggle with engaging team members?
  • Please leave a comment on my blog below and share your insights with the community.

For more resources on leadership and employee engagement, be sure to sign up for our monthly Ezine and you will receive our report: “7 of Your Biggest People Problems…Solved.”

You might also like:

Leadership Team Accelerated Results Program

6 Signs Your Ego Runs Your Business: 6 Ways Leaders Can Rein It In

Managing for Maximum Performance

Jennifer Ledet, CSP, is a leadership consultant and professional speaker (with a hint of Cajun flavor) who equips leaders from the boardroom to the mailroom to improve employee engagement, teamwork, and communication.  In her customized programs, leadership retreats, keynote presentations, and breakout sessions, she cuts through the BS and talks through the tough stuff to solve your people problems.

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Growth Leadership Personal Development

Goal-Setting Is Not the Answer to Leadership Success

Following a recent vacation, I found myself inexplicably stressed out. I tried to figure out what worry was niggling at the back of my mind. Why should I worry? I had just received word that several proposals had been accepted by clients, and that should be cause for elation rather than angst.

Well, with a knotty problem to unravel, I grabbed a pen and paper and started making a list of all the competing priorities I had to contend with. It didn’t take me long to realize what the problem was: I didn’t have a plan. A couple of the proposals that had recently been accepted were for unique projects, the likes of which I had not experienced before. I was subconsciously fretting about how to begin and what steps I’d need to take. I almost laughed out loud at myself. Just the week before, I had been talking with a coaching client about the very same principle. I guess I needed to follow my own advice.

As an executive leader, do you chart the course for and with your team? Getting team members involved in goal-setting and action planning is a great way to boost employee engagement. Get their input, ask their opinions, and clearly communicate every step of the way.

Collaborate with your team to map out a plan for achieving your goals. You might as well budget some time for unexpected delays and interruptions, because they surely are inevitable.

That’s how I handled it. Once I had sketched out a plan, I felt much better. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and under-prepared, I felt a sense of calm and confidence. When you know where you are going and how you are going to get there, you will have that same self-assuredness. Better yet, your team members will have greater confidence in you as a leader.

Nothing beats waking up in the morning and consulting your plan to see what you need to do to get where you want to go. When you and your team are taking action every quarter, month, week, and day toward your goals, you will find that you share a collective sense of certainty and confidence. And I promise you that by planning out your course, you will create greater peace of mind.

CHIME IN HERE:

• How do you get team members engaged in the goal-setting and planning process?

• When do you make time to plan for success with your team?

• Please leave a comment below and share your insights with the community.

For more resources on leadership and employee engagement, be sure to sign up for our monthly Ezine and you will receive our report: “7 of Your Biggest People Problems…Solved.”

You might also like:

Leadership Tips for Giving Feedback to the Under-performer

7 Steps to be a More Effective Leader

Leadership Team Accelerated Results Program

Jennifer Ledet, CSP, is a leadership consultant and professional speaker (with a hint of Cajun flavor) who equips leaders from the boardroom to the mailroom to improve employee engagement, teamwork, and communication.  In her customized programs, leadership retreats, keynote presentations, and breakout sessions, she cuts through the BS and talks through the tough stuff to solve your people problems.

 

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Management Marketing Personal Development

Why Your Elevator Pitch Still Matters

If you want to attract an investor, get a job, get a raise, or maybe even get a date: you’ve got to have an elevator pitch. Or, more accurately: The NEW Elevator Pitch.

Some might think of the elevator pitch as a throwback to a long-ago era, before technology became commonplace. And that’s true: the elevator platform has been replaced with the social platform.

While it’s true that you can swipe right to make a connection, that’s only the start of the conversation. An employer might be interested because of your LinkedIn profile. But sooner or later, someone is going to say,

So, tell me a little bit about yourself. What do you do?

The online conversation can only take you so far. According to this article in Harvard Business Review, over two-thirds of managers are uncomfortable communicating with employees. Are we losing the ability to have an effective conversation?

The need for a new kind of conversation has never been greater. The influx of technology is crippling our ability to interact, and that old-school “facetime” conversation is now stilted, awkward and uncomfortable. Why?

  • We still need to persuade others, and get them enrolled in new ideas
  • Investors still want to hear from you, personally, before they part with their money
  • Hiring the best and the brightest means being able to share your story quickly – clearly – concisely

When you want to persuade and influence the people that matter most (whether that’s your life partner or business partner), you’ve got to understand these key components of a new kind of conversation. That conversation is what I call the NEW Elevator Pitch.

  • If it doesn’t matter to your listener, it doesn’t matter: Have you ever met someone who can only talk about themselves? I know one guy who was out on a date and his conversation starter was, “So what have you heard about me?” Wow. Yikes. Ouch. And for entrepreneurs, the problem can be just as challenging: focusing on your business, without looking at the impact for the investor, is deadly. Sure, you’ve worked hard, and your life experiences make you who you are, but at the end of the day: what matters most? Is it your past…or your potential? Ultimately, you have to turn what you’ve done in the past into what you can do for others. Otherwise, what matters to you won’t matter much.
  • Create a “Tell Me More..”: If you want to know if you’ve got a great pitch, remember this: the best ‘pitch’ isn’t a pitch at all. It’s a conversation. A conversation that makes your listener say, “Tell me more.” Those three words – tell me more – let you know that you’ve started a dialogue. That’s how you know if someone is interested. And if you’re wondering, “What’s the opposite of ‘tell me more’?”, the answer is: “So what?”
  • Include an invitation: The NEW Elevator Pitch is a persuasive conversation. In other words, you want someone to take action. That means that just providing information isn’t enough. Information is everywhere. I know, because I just googled it. Information doesn’t always lead to action. Think about it: you know you shouldn’t eat that second donut. But there it is. Your knowledge can’t stop you from snarfing down that delicious chocolate covered donut. What is it that makes people want to take action? This video can tell you more, but basically: you’ve got to remember to include an invitation. An invitation that’s easy to say ‘yes’ to. An invitation that’s logical, simple and clear. If you don’t offer a next step, how can people know what action you hope to create? And more importantly, how can someone learn what kind of outcome you might be able to achieve, together?

 

You don’t need to be an entrepreneur to be in the market for a great pitch. You just have to have an idea worth sharing. All you need is a story to tell. You have ideas you want to share. The NEW Elevator Pitch can help you to deliver your message.

My question for you is: do you know how to bring your ideas to life?

For more resources that can help you to access your authentic story, take a look at my YouTube channel. And, if you would like some help with your pitch, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.

New results could be just one conversation away.

 

About the Author

A coach to entrepreneurial leaders on four continents, Chris Westfall has helped transform brands across the globe. His clients have appeared on Shark Tank, Dragons Den in Canada and also Shark Tank – Australia. Recognized as the US NATIONAL ELEVATOR PITCH CHAMPION, he regularly provides guidance to C-Suite executives on powerful communication skills.  Follow him on twitter or Instagram, and check out over 200 videos on effective communication, via his YouTube Channel.

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Growth Leadership Personal Development

When You Have NO MORE to Give as a Leader

As an executive leader, you are pulled in 50-million directions, you are wearing 10 different hats, and you are just trying to meet your deadlines each week. I’m here to introduce you to a concept that sounds foreign, sounds maybe a bit crazy, and probably isn’t what you want to hear.

First, let me introduce you to the Southern Louisiana term “Lagniappe.” If you’re not quite sure what this term means, “Lagniappe” is a term that actually has Spanish and French roots. (Remember, Louisiana has been under both Spanish and French rule, so many of our terms are derivatives of those languages.) “Lagniappe” refers to a little something extra that a friendly shopkeeper might add to a customer’s purchase.

Today it is used to mean an extra gift or benefit – a bonus. Folks in other parts of the country might use the term ‘baker’s dozen’ to mean the same thing. Literally translated, it means “to give more.”

To give more. If only we could each adopt this as our personal philosophy and practice! In customer service and sales the application of this term is pretty clear – to give more than is expected. I’m asking you to give more. Yup, I’m going to go there. I know what you are thinking. There is no possible way you have any room to give more.

We all know the bottom line is, the more you give the more you receive.  When you have NO MORE to give, not an ounce, give just a bit more. If you don’t do it now, you can run your whole life as an executive leader claiming to be “too busy.” Now, while you may need a team retreat or personal retreat, or to better delegate tasks, or to hire a new assistant to address that work-life balance, in the meantime, I’m talking about giving in small but impactful ways that don’t cost anything. Your clients, your team members remember that extra inch you gave and it will come back to benefit you and your business over and over.

Take this for example:

I have made it a practice to under-promise and over-deliver – with the emphasis on over-delivery. For my family’s Nicaragua vacation, we enlisted the help of a travel agent who booked hotels, advised us about driving distances, and recommended sites to see. He was compensated for his efforts, but, as “a little lagniappe,” I’m putting together a Cajun gift basket to send to him. Little thank you’s like this take moments, but will be remembered for years.

As an executive leader, where can you give more?

Try these quick, costless, simple opportunities to give a little lagniappe to your team members, colleagues, and clients.

Empathy for another’s circumstances and struggles. Take your focus off of yourself and really tune in to the other person. Empathy is the ultimate virtual reality. Put yourself in their shoes.

Feedback to team members. Your team would rather receive negative feedback than no feedback at all. Please tell them how they’re doing!

Time to mentor and teach. Share your wisdom, knowledge, and experience to help an intern grow and learn.

Respect for others. Acknowledge that differences in behavior, style, and approach are, as Martha Stewart would say “a good thing.” Appreciate that we each have strengths that add value to the team.

Thanks for a job well-done. Gratitude can go a long way toward re-energizing employees to give their best.

Attention to what people are saying. Listen more and talk less. Hear what’s being said as well as what’s not being said. (Yeah, so you might have to peel your eyes away from the i-phone for a few minutes.)

Consistency in your actions and behavior. Your team members need to know what to expect from you – day in and day out.

Trust in your team members. This is perhaps one of the toughest things to give as a boss, but probably one of the most empowering things you can do for your team members. Mentor, teach, guide, give feedback, and then trust them to get the job done their way.

Giving, and lagniappe is a way of life in South Louisiana – embedded in our culture. As a leader, you can make it part of your organization’s culture. I believe that the more you model the practice of giving a little lagniappe, the more positive results you will see from your team… and the more positive results for your customers, and ultimately, your bottom line.

What will you:

  • start doing,
  • stop doing, or
  • continue doing

to give a little more – to offer a little lagniappe for your team? Use the comment box below to share your action plan with us!

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More articles by Jennifer:

Leadership Team Accelerated Results Program

6 Leadership Lessons to Learn from Cajuns

Take 6 New Angles to Find Team Opportunities

Jennifer Ledet, CSP, is a leadership consultant and professional speaker (with a hint of Cajun flavor) who equips leaders from the boardroom to the mailroom to improve employee engagement, teamwork, and communication.  In her customized programs, leadership retreats, keynote presentations, and breakout sessions, she cuts through the BS and talks through the tough stuff to solve your people problems.

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