Tag: leadership communication

What if one of your key players:

• got a once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity and left your organization?
• was in an accident?
• had a family emergency and was out for an extended period?
• God forbid, died suddenly?
• got sick and was in the hospital?
• won the lottery and said adios amigos?

This week has been a bit challenging, but nowhere near the catastrophe it could have been. My computer hard drive unexpectedly crashed. Since a majority of my work and business are contained on that hard drive, it truly could have been devastating. Fortunately, though, I was prepared with backups to a local external drive and to an online/cloud service. So, yes, it has been inconvenient, but I didn’t lose data thanks to my backup plans.

This experience got me to thinking about how, as leaders, we need to make sure that we have backups for our people, not just our data. Would you be prepared if some unforeseen event happened?

I know no one wants to think about such things, but as an executive leader, you have a responsibility to ensure that your business operations could continue if some unforeseen event like this happened. Pulling the covers over your head, burying your head in the sand, or sticking your fingers in your ears won’t help you if one of the above events occurs. (I know. I’ve tried.) Author Ryan Holliday says that we should literally engage in negative thinking. For you leaders, that might mean thinking about worst case scenarios so that you can set up contingency plans to deal with the unexpected challenges that might crop up.

Organizing a contingency plan for your people is just good business. While many think that succession planning is just the HR Director putting names in boxes on an organizational chart, it’s actually about thinking ahead and being prepared, and yes, even thinking about the worst case scenario. And BTW, succession planning isn’t just for the CEO. If you’re a leader of a division, department, or a small business, you still need to think about this and be proactive. And repeat after me: It doesn’t have to be complicated.

Steps that you can take to jump-start your succession planning:

1. Start today. There’s an old Chinese proverb that says: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” Identifying and prepping someone to step into a leadership role can take some time, but you’ll be so glad you did if the unexpected happens. Just do it.

2. Don’t go it alone.  Get your leadership team, your board, and any other stakeholders involved. You’ll want their input and perspective on this.

3. Discover the skills and strengths of team members. If you’ve never taken the time to do this, the whole process will be beneficial for everyone involved. You may unearth a latent talent or strength that a team member has never put to work for your organization. Ideally, you want to have everyone working in their areas of strength so that they’re making their maximum contribution to the organization and they’ll feel engaged and dialed into their work. (If you’d like some help with this, give me a call. We’ll work with you to determine the best tools to help you tap into the strengths of ALL of your team members.)

4. Identify high potential leaders. Regardless of their current role, look for people who exhibit the characteristics and strengths needed to be successful in the leadership position.

5. Include high potential leaders in strategy discussions. Show him the big picture so that he has context and a broader perspective of the organization.

6. Assess your high potential leaders’ interest, willingness, and enthusiasm for taking the reins one day. No matter how good you think he might be, if he says he never, ever wants to be in a leadership role, you may need to look for someone else.

7. Offer coaching and training to top performers. How will you need to invest in her today, so that she’ll be ready tomorrow? While she may have the technical skills necessary for her current role, she’ll likely need some help with things like communication, delegation, coaching, and performance management.

8. Identify talent gaps. As you go through the process of identifying high-potential leaders within your organization, make note of where you may be lacking talent or skills.  Keep your succession plan in mind when hiring and recruiting and see if you can fill those gaps.

9. Refresh, revise, update. Your succession plan doesn’t have to be complicated, but it should be a living document that you update regularly as people, circumstances, and the business environment change.

Working through this process may open your eyes to the strengths and talents of the folks you’ve already got on your bench. And from my experience, helping your employees to recognize their strengths and putting them to work will cause them to be more engaged and eager to contribute their best.

Succession planning, like backing up the data on your computer, may seem like a task you can put off to another day. I encourage you to view it as insurance against a business-busting catastrophe. Just do it. You’ll be glad you did.

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.

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.”

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I see young business professionals entering the workforce, and they’ve got all the technical training out the wazoo (now, that’s a technical term for ya!) and often they’ve got degrees to the point that it looks like alphabet soup behind their names, but they are far from having what it takes to be successful in today’s work environment.

They really need a guiding hand, tips, strategies, and techniques for how to APPLY their training and education in the real world of their job. What they need in short, mon ami, is mentoring.

“What exactly is a mentor?”

A mentor is someone who commands a certain degree of respect, either by virtue of holding a higher-level position, or because of experience doing the job. Mentoring is most often defined as a professional relationship in which an experienced person (the mentor) assists another (the mentoree, mentee, or protégé) in developing skills and knowledge that will enhance the less-experienced person’s professional growth. A mentor takes a special interest in a person, and in teaching that person skills and attitudes to help him succeed. Think Mr. Miyagi and Daniel-San from the movie The Kirate Kid. 

A term that you often hear in Cajun country is comme ca`, which translates literally to “like this/like that”. As a kid when a parent or grandparent was teaching us something, they would say, “Comme ca” as they demonstrated the task. In a similar way, a mentor is someone that a less experienced employee can go to and ask questions, have a task demonstrated, and generally bounce around ideas.

Companies who are on the right track are creating structured mentoring programs to help less experienced team members get acclimated quickly and start progression in their career.

Here is what you are missing out on if you don’t have a mentoring program:

1. Orienting the new employee to the organization’s culture. Knowing the culture is almost as important as doing the job well. Job satisfaction comes not only from good performance evaluations but also from feeling that she fits in, has friends at work and can be herself.

2. Talent Development. A mentor can help the new employee learn the skills particular to this position, apply their education or training on the job, and most importantly, develop the confidence to perform the job well.

3. Knowledge sharing. With baby boomers retiring at record rates today, organizations are suffering major “brain drain” as retirees take all of their knowledge, experience, and wisdom with them as they head for Margaritaville. Mentoring partnerships offer opportunities for knowledge sharing and tapping into knowledge capital within the organization.

When I took one of my first real “big girl” jobs, I was so fortunate to have an executive leader take me under her wing. Her advice and counsel were invaluable to me. Whether or not your organization has a mentoring program, you can become a mentor.

Suggest the creation of a mentoring program within your organization. If that doesn’t fly, there’s nothing to prevent you from taking on a protégé on your own in an informal capacity. Sure, I know you’re busy, but just think how much knowledge you have and how much you could help an uncertain, insecure young team member find his way in the wild world of your organization!

How to be an effective informal mentor:

• Be the guide on the side, not the sage on the stage. Remain on the sidelines and let her make her own mistakes. Just be there to help her up after she falls. Provide guidance and suggestions when asked, but don’t take it personally if she doesn’t go with your suggestions.

 

• Give generously.  Just like Zig Ziglar said, “You can have anything you want if you just help others get what they want.” If you give unselfishly of your time and knowledge, you will get so much back in return! Besides, the lagniappe (added bonus) that you get is that you become known as the trusted go-to guy/gal, which only increases your value within the organization.

 

• Been there, done that? Share insider secrets. With your experience, surely you’ve made some mistakes in your day. Share with your mentee any landmines – and shortcuts – that you may have discovered along the way.

Mentors are good for the mentee, good for the mentor, and absolutely good for the organization. If you were fortunate and blessed to have someone who took you under their wing, the best way you can honor that person is by taking a mentee under your wing. Don’t pay them back, but rather, pay it forward.

Comment below:

What great experiences have you had with a mentor?

Who is in your life that could learn from you?

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.

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.”

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Ten Tactics for Leading Through Tough Times

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So many business professionals and executive leaders think we need to have hard and fast rules applied across the board for every situation. Maybe it’s a backlash to the anti-discrimination laws, political correctness, or just fear of ticking someone off. What really slays me is when leaders, in their zeal to be consistent or “fair,” disregard the spirit of the rule or policy and completely forget the bigger picture. A truly effective leader is able to keep things in perspective.

As a “Recovering HR Director,” it always bothers me when leaders want to “legislate” their way out of having to make decisions. They want to create a rule for every occasion, every potential situation, and all circumstances. Each time there is an issue to be addressed, it’s simply stated and defined in the policy handbook and then filed away. The problem is, there are no identical situations. Just as there are no identical candidates for a job, there are no mirror image situations where a rule, policy, or procedure can absolutely be applied. Sure, there will be similar situations, where a guideline can easily be applied.

There will always be exceptions to every rule. And then, judgment, discretion, and yes, discrimination are required of the leader. If not, we wouldn’t need leaders. We could just create a system to apply and enforce rules, let the organization run on autopilot, and save money on those high-dollar salaries! By definition, executive leaders must be willing and able to make decisions. There will always be situations where discretion and judgment are necessary.

Rules alone will not suffice.

Make effective decisions using these tips:

1. Stop right there! Don’t react to a situation, but think about the big picture. Before reaching for the rubber stamp or just enforcing a policy, consider the spirit of the policy as well as the intent and context when the policy was created.

2. Take the time to research any similar situations and how they were handled. Compare those situations to this one, noting any unique conditions.

3. Analyze the situation from all angles and get input from appropriate individuals. Be prepared to take input into consideration, but make the final decision based on all factors.

4. Play the role of Joe Friday (of Dragnet fame), and get the facts. Ask open-ended questions to get the full picture. Open-ended questions typically require more than a one-word response, and therefore elicit more information. Find out what mitigating circumstances may be involved, if any.

5. Put on your “big boy drawers/big girl panties” and just do it! Make your decision and stand by it.

Share your thoughts on executive leadership decision-making and workplace policies. What tips would you add to this list?

What are some of the decision-making strategies that have worked for you?

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:

Why You Shouldn’t Bother with Strategic Planning Until You First Do This

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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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Many people are dealing with what can seem like insurmountable challenges right now – maybe you’re dealing with the aftermath of floods/wildfires/hurricanes/tornadoes/(insert your natural disaster here), economic woes, layoffs, or extreme budget cuts. Your team may just flat out not be getting along or working together productively.

While I wouldn’t say that being an effective executive leader is ever easy, I think we’d agree that serving as the top dog during prosperous times is a whole lot more fun than leading during tough times. Being a true senior leader is all about being able to rise to the occasion during those challenging times.

Don’t forget that in uncertain times, you are not the only one who’s stressed. Your team members likely have a tremendous amount of anxiety and as those negative emotions run high, they may vent their frustrations at a co-worker or colleague. As the stress continues, often fatigue and hopelessness set in.

Sorry to be such a “Betty Buzzkill,” but I do offer some remedies.  If you’re on the struggle bus, here are a few tips for dealing with the aforementioned adversity – and/or for anytime you want to be a better leader or just a decent human being.

1. Lighten up. Go see a funny movie or watch a sitcom, serve pizza or po’boys at lunch. Make sure that you take time for yourself to have fun, relax, and recharge your batteries. See my last blog on this one.

2. Be kind and compassionate. Obviously. Everyone is fighting battles that we know nothing about. Use empathy and put yourself in her shoes.

3. Communicate early and often. Now is not the time to hunker down in your office/bunker. Share information, be accessible to your people, and listen to the concerns of your team members.

4. Show interest and concern for each team member. Ask how his family is doing, what challenges he’s facing, and what specific help he needs. Everyone wants to feel empowered and in control. Focus on what action he can take and help him to identify appropriate ways of dealing with the challenges.

5. Be as transparent as possible. If you don’t know the answer to a question, admit that you don’t know. When you have less than positive news/developments to share, do so directly and with respect for how it will impact members of your team.

6. Get scrappy. This is the time to search for more innovative solutions. Get your team involved and tap into their creativity. Get them talking and brainstorming. This is a great way to get and keep them engaged, too. See my previous blog post, Make Your Meetings Meaningful.

7. Exercise. To burn off stress – and all those beignets you ate because you were stressed out. The endorphins will do you a world of good. Encourage your team members to do the same. Why not have a walking meeting?

8. Get enough sleep. Easier said than done, I know. But hopefully, all that exercise will make you tired so you’ll sleep like a baby. Nobody wants to deal with a cranky, sleep-deprived leader during tough times.

9. Spend time with family and friends – but not if they’re the ones causing you stress! Make it a point to be around people who lift you up and make you feel good about yourself. Rather than join the “ain’t it awful club,” surround yourself with positive people who are prone to taking action rather than sitting around whining about the situation.

10. Appreciate and thank others for their efforts. Make a commitment to thank or recognize someone (or three or five someones) each day before your head hits the pillow. I know you’ve heard about the research that indicates that gratitude is a powerful antidote to feeling “meh.” So do it.

Of course there are mornings that you wish you were Don Draper from Madmen so you could pour yourself a drink at 9:00 AM, but sadly, my friend, that would likely only make matters worse. Hopefully, these tips will help you to see these tough times as an opportunity to become a stronger, more effective leader.

Remember that as a leader, you are being watched! You are the role model, the example that others will follow. If you are determined and focused on the positive, likely your team will follow your lead.

CHIME IN:

• How do you keep your team engaged during tough times?
• What actions would you add to this list?
• Post a comment below and share your experiences with our 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.”

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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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It’s no wonder that stress is at an all-time high. If the 24-hour news cycle isn’t bad enough, on the job we have to deal with downsizing, upsizing, rightsizing, mergers, acquisitions, buyouts, corporate scandals, and the list goes on and on. Not to mention, you and your team members may be facing personal issues, family issues, team conflicts, mid-life crises, work crises, the list goes on!

In our culture, if we don’t feel fantastic, we just pop a pill…  anti-depressants, sleep aids, pain meds, heartburn relief, diet pills, well, you get the picture. Pharmaceutical companies thrive on this negativity.

Sorry for being such a “Debbie Downer” — but I would like to suggest a different approach.

Here is the big idea: lighten up! Now, I know what you’re thinking — “Yeah, but Jen, you don’t know how serious my job/business/position/problem is!”
Well, I’m not suggesting goofing off all day, playing practical jokes on your co-workers, or making fun at someone else’s expense. What I am advocating is working hard, doing a good job, and enjoying yourself along the way. (Radical idea, I know.)

When you incorporate humor, fun, and celebration with your team members you may:

• Improve customer service
• Build trust & relationships
• Strengthen teamwork
• Reduce stress & conflict
• Increase productivity
• Improve employee retention rates
• Boost morale
• Increase sales
• Improve communication
• Improve employee engagement

Take your job seriously and take yourself lightly.

Your work may not need to be as serious as you’re making it and you may not need to be such a party pooper.

What’s that? You say that the nature of your work is too serious to bring in any kind of fun? Well, I say that’s all the more reason you NEED to bring in fun. I know folks who work in healthcare settings where they are treating cancer patients and terminally ill children. Now that can be pretty grim and depressing work — if you don’t provide opportunities to lighten things up. Their patients don’t need caregivers who are grim and depressed. Rather, they need to be around people who are upbeat and positive.

Take a tip from the Southern Louisianians. They typically need no excuse for a party. Mardi Gras, for example, provides a time for everyone to come together, forget their differences, and celebrate with a certain abandon and “joie de vivre.” Everyone you meet is festive and happy to share in the celebration, hence the common expression, laissez les bons temps roulez! (Let the good times roll.)

Leaders, YOU create the work environment.

You set the tone for what is and is not acceptable.  Why not create an environment of laissez les bons temps roulez year round? Why not create an environment where people want to come to work?

Give a booster shot to your fatigued, overworked, apathetic, unappreciative, cynical team members without spending a lot of green.

Take these tips to LIGHTEN UP your work environment:

1. Have a Superbowl football pool
2. Put together a competitive team of some kind — sports, trivia, etc.
3. Have po-boys or pizza delivered for lunch
4. Conduct a weekly drawing for prizes
5. Give out fun awards when you “catch someone doing good,” or playful awards for doing something silly or embarrassing
6. Hold friendly contests, (maybe riff off of one of the popular reality TV shows), with proceeds going to a charitable cause
7. If appropriate you may even have themed dress up or dress-down days
8. Celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and milestones

Those are just a few things you can do to introduce some lightheartedness into your work environment. Have some fun! Mais cher, laissez les bon temps roulez!

This week: What are you doing to bring a spirit of fun and lightheartedness into your organization?

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 problem

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.”

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In the “C-suite” there is no way that you are immune to flu outbreaks and viruses. The kids are back to school and often bringing home some germs to share with your family. In a leadership development program I was teaching for the C-Suite of a large healthcare organization, I was talking with the Chief Nursing Officer and asked her how they prepare or deal with illnesses in the workplace. She answered that they tell people not to come to the emergency room, so as not to spread the germs.

Could you imagine if you had the opportunity to tell some of your co-workers, “Don’t come to work today! We don’t want your germs.”

While flu germs are nasty and easily spread, I’m talking about the “negativity germ,” which is contagious just like a flu virus.

When you lead a team of people, you wield significant influence – and not just within your department. What kind of germs are you spreading? We are all spreading viruses whether we realize it or not. Your leadership influence extends well beyond your direct reports and may reach many others within and outside of your organization. Due to your prestigious position, people figure you are in the know. If you are grouchy and distracted, they figure you must know something that they don’t know. Employees assume the worst and start worrying about what could be wrong. Your negative attitude will certainly rub off on others and spread like wildfire to other employees… and to your customers.

Hey there leader, boss, executive: You are responsible for creating an environment that is conducive to productivity and service. You set the temperature – you set the tone! It’s easy for anybody to be a thermometer – to just take the temperature of the room. But it’s a lot harder to be a thermostat – to actually adjust the temperature of the room.  You must model the right attitude and approach to the current business climate.

Take the opposite approach to combat germs. Use your powerful influence to spread a virus of positivity. Use the term coined by my friend and colleague, Rosanne in Pennsylvania, to describe a positive attitude: “Positude.” Why not have a positude? You have a responsibility to have a consistent demeanor. Your positude will also catch on like a virus.

Use this time to think about what kind of virus you’re spreading. Will your team members want to get a vaccine to ward off your germs, or will they come to you for a booster shot that will make them more productive and valuable?

How are you affecting others? What will you:

• Start doing
• Stop doing, or
• Continue doing

to fix your attitude and subsequently improve the attitude of your team? Comment with your action plan here so we can all learn and grow!

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.”

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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Leaders, I have a quick quiz for you:

• Name 5 recent Olympic Gold Medalists.
• Name the 5 wealthiest business owners in the world.
• Who won the Grammy for Album of the Year in any of the last 3 years?
• List 6 people who have won a Pulitzer Prize.

How’d you do? Not so hot, huh? I have another quiz for you and I think you’ll have an easier time with this one.

• List 3 people who taught you something worthwhile.
• Name one person who encouraged you.
• Name one person who took time to answer your questions or who inspired you.
• Think of someone who took interest in helping you and developing your skills.

A little easier to recall, right? The point is, the greatest leaders and coaches — those who really make a difference — aren’t necessarily the most famous or notorious, but rather, the ones who take time to invest in people.

What kind of investments are you making?

I meet with our financial advisor twice a year and he updates my husband and I on how our investments are paying interest and dividends. Before working with this financial advisor, we were just spending our money without any conscious thought of the long-term implications of our actions. We weren’t giving much thought to our future or to what we would eventually leave behind.

The smallest interactions today create a legacy that will live on beyond you. As a senior level executive, frontline manager, or CEO, when you take the time to invest in people, you will also receive dividends — of a different sort. You are making a mark that can’t be erased. Make it a goal to consciously leave a positive legacy by investing in others. What kind of legacy will you leave?

As a leader, you have lots of experience and know-how. By “investing” in others, I mean take time with them, give them your attention, and mentor them. Are you transferring your knowledge, wisdom, skills, and even shortcuts to others?  When you share your experience and expertise with others you not only help that team member but you benefit the organization, as well. When you sow seeds of encouragement, you inspire self-confidence and determination, which ultimately can impact the whole team’s bottom line.

In the first few years of my leadership consultant career, I worked with a mentor and coach. When I ran to him with a dilemma, he rarely came out and told me what to do. Instead, he would listen, and ask me questions that would spark my thinking. His questions often challenged me to think outside the box and to doubt my assumptions. I learned a lot from him and yet, I don’t think he ever preached, directed, or demanded a thing of me. He simply drew the answers out of me and subtly shared his wisdom and knowledge.

As a result of my mentor’s investment in me, I became a much more valuable team member and I know the organization reaped those benefits. Years later, I often find myself using those same techniques with others.

Do you act as a role-model for others? As a leader, you are being watched! Others are looking to your example to follow. Mentoring a team member or a colleague can be as simple as taking the time to answer their questions, develop their skills, and patiently correct their mistakes.

Each time you take an extra moment to explain not only what and how you’re doing what you’re doing, but why you’re doing it, you instill a sense of ownership in team members. When they can see the bigger picture and the reasoning or logic behind the task, they will have a greater commitment to doing the job well.

Whether it was a counselor, coach, a teacher, a parent, or a successful business owner, someone gave you a hand or modeled the way for you. Will you pay it forward?

Take a look at who is around you. Who can you invest in? I challenge you to review how and where you’re investing your most valuable resource — your time. Your investment in people will bring you the most rewarding dividends of all.

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.

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.”

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As a leadership expert, coaches fascinate me because if they are a really great leader, they can get players to perform in ways that even the players themselves didn’t know they could do. While watching my kids play sports when they were growing up and supporting the team, I always enjoyed observing the coaches.

While watching my kids in sports, I was reminded of some outstanding leaders that I’ve known throughout my career and how they acted, in many ways, like a coach. Think about an influential boss or leader who had a tremendous impact on you. I’ll bet they, too, served as a coach.

Business, like sports, is a team effort, and to succeed, we need each player/team member to give their best. Outstanding coaches don’t just have a technical knowledge of the game/business, they have a gift for inspiring others.

Here are six things that outstanding coaches know and practice …

• Each “player” has unique talents and gifts and we should encourage them to play to those strengths. What a waste not to capitalize on each player’s natural abilities and assets!
• A word of praise goes so much farther than criticism. You may have to look hard to find something to praise, but it will be well worth your effort. Can you remember a mentor complimenting you? Suddenly your posture got straighter and you wanted to live up to those positive words. The same happens with your team members.
• It’s not important to “put in” what was “left out” of your players; It’s important to draw out what was left in. Find ways to tap into your team members’ inner greatness. Draw out the best that they have to give.
• Sharing the credit for team success builds everyone’s self-confidence, pride, and trust.
• They are being watched! Successful leaders know that they must first model the way for their players.
• Losing one game or making one mistake does not make the player a loser. Successful coaches use those temporary setbacks as teaching moments.

Do you measure up as a leader, a boss, or an executive? I’m sure we can all use some practice in this area. Be prepared, though, because serving as a great coach is a job where you will receive as much in return as you give.

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.”

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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 Musiena • on Reshot

In leadership and in relationships, what is the glue that holds everything together?

In one of my leadership development workshops, my client and I were discussing the integral role that trust plays within an organization, particularly between a manager and his or her team members. Eric serves as a Lead Operator on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. “I don’t care who you are or what your title is, if I don’t trust you, I can’t work with you!” Eric said vehemently. His rationale behind this statement isn’t hard to understand. In his role, he puts life and limb on the line every day, and if he can’t be absolutely sure that his co-workers are being safe and not cutting corners, he doesn’t want to work with them.

You guessed it, TRUST, is that glue in leadership and relationships that holds everything together.

Whether you’re a leader by title or by influence, trust needs to be a huge part of your make-up. Frankly, it is an important part of any relationship. You may not be in a life and death situation in your workplace, but I can assure you, trust is just as important.

Cheryl Biehl says, “One of the realities of life is that if you can’t trust a person at all points, you can’t truly trust him at any point.” To earn trust, our actions must be consistent. If I’m only trustworthy in some departments of life but not all, it’s like cooking a huge pot of gumbo, then adding strychnine to the pot and saying that only part of the gumbo is poisoned. Now, give me a shot or two of Tabasco in my gumbo, but I’ll pass on the poison! Consistency is the key.

Trust can’t be compartmentalized.

Author of “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” Steven Covey compares trust in a relationship to an emotional bank account. We can choose whether to make deposits or withdrawals to the account. When we follow through and do what we say we’re going to do, we’re making deposits. If we make enough deposits over time, trust is earned and our account earns interest and grows. When we don’t follow through or fail to honor a commitment, we make a withdrawal. If we make too many withdrawals, our “account” will be “overdrawn” and trust is shaken.

It takes two to tango, too. “He who trusts in others will be trusted in return.” One thing that is apparently tough for many leaders to do is to place their trust in others. When I was a young professional, I worked with a manager who assigned me an important project and let me have the reigns. Nothing could have been more motivating or inspiring than having her place her confidence in me. I truly wanted to do a great job so that I could show her she chose the right person.

Each time you let a team member know that you believe in them, they will want to produce positive results – they’ll run through a brick wall for you – anything not to let you down.

Think about someone who made a significant difference in your life. Maybe it was a boss, coach, teacher, or even a parent or grandparent. Think about how it felt when they expressed their confidence and their trust in your abilities.

Are you showing your team members that you trust them?

Are you earning your team members’ trust by acting consistently?

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.

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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 Chibelyaeva Katya on Reshot

In any of your training as an executive leader, have you heard the term tête á tête? Probably not.

Down on the Lousiana bayou, I’ve often heard this term. When Mama said to me, “We need to have a tête á tête!” she wanted to have a talk with me head to head and eyeball to eyeball. It also meant I was likely in some kind of trouble. (I seem to remember a lot of those tête á têtes, and that’s because I had/have a tête dur – a hard head – and was always causing some kind of misère in one way or another!) In a business setting, though, it would simply involve having a one-on-one conversation with someone, an in-person meeting.

How often do you Facebook message the guy in the cubicle next to you rather than walk over and have a tête á tête? Do you send a text to your friend to see how she’s doing after a serious family problem instead of giving her a call or dropping by to visit?

Of course, there are times when emailing and texting are the most appropriate forms of communication. I believe, though, that as a leader, you’ll realize a huge amount of value when you connect with your team members in person. Call a meeting when you need to or walk over and meet in person!

Do You Blame the Meeting Itself?

I’ve heard the complaints before: “But most meetings completely waste my time. I’m suffering from an agonizing condition known as death-by-meeting!” More often than not, it’s because the leader and/or attendees failed to properly prepare, or include the right people, or keep the meeting focused and productive. Don’t blame the meeting itself!

Each time you have intentional person-to-person meetings, you can see your fellow team member roll his eyes at your new procedures, or cross her arms in disagreement, or nod his head in excitement. It’s invaluable in helping you “hear” what’s not being said! Yes, using email often seems more expedient and efficient, but not if you consider the cost of what you’re missing by not conducting an in-person meeting.

When you take into account that your tone of voice and body language are completely removed from your written message, you leave a lot of room for interpretation (or misinterpretation), assumptions, and misunderstanding.

Do You Blame the Medium?

As an executive leader, when communicating crucial information to team members, think strategically about the medium you use. If you want to get honest feedback, express concerns, or give performance feedback, your objectives are best served if you meet tête á tête. Connect with others rather than talk at them.

One of the managers I was training talked about his team members this way: “I sent him a message and I TOLD him to . . . .” And I’m sure he did tell his team member what he wanted done. But did he give the person a chance to ask questions or paraphrase back to the manager his directions? Did the manager actually demonstrate what he wanted done? I doubt it.

Our text messages are often so cryptic and riddled with abbreviations and code words, you can’t know if the recipient understood your message or whether your code was misconstrued.

For example:

HTH! CWYL mayB F2F!

Translation:

Hope that helps! Chat with you later maybe face to face!

The power and efficiency of sitting down eyeball to eyeball – tête á tête – with your team members for a person-to-person convo is underrated. You’ll be surprised what you hear that’s not being said. So who do you blame for lacking leadership communication skills? I think you can draw your own conclusions . .

CHIME IN! What will you:

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

to ace leadership communication with your team members? Use the comment box below to share your action plan with us!

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

Photo by Elaine Baylon on Reshot