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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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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!

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.

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.

Photo

 

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Growth Leadership Personal Development

Hey Leaders, Are You Setting Up Your Team to Fail?

Take, for instance, when we hear about air traffic controllers reportedly nodding off on the job and pilots being forced to land unassisted. As frightening as that may be, personally, I don’t blame the controllers. They were set up for failure.

The majority of these controllers work schedules that sound something like this: work an 8-hour shift, rest for 8 hours; work an 8-hour shift and rest for 8 hours. Many work repeated back-to-back midnight shifts, during which most of them are flying solo.

As Charlie Sheen would say, “DUH!” They’re all falling asleep at the switch because they’re all sleep-deprived!

This system is clearly flawed and therefore, it has failed the controllers – and us. Where are the leaders here? I know grocery store managers who do a much better job of scheduling their clerks than this, and these clerks (typically) are not responsible for the lives of hundreds or thousands of people in one shift.

So, here is my question for you as executive leaders, as bosses, as team leaders, as business owners. Are you scrutinizing your procedures and systems to make sure that you are setting people up for success rather than failure?

I once had a client contact me requesting a team-building training program. In an effort to conduct a little quick and dirty needs analysis I asked him what was going on – what prompted his request. (Since I’ve worked with this company in the past, I have a pretty good idea of their leadership structure.) He explained that they wanted to provide the teamwork training to their salespeople. He further elaborated that these salespeople are set up into two divisions and are essentially competing against each other for customers.

Wait a minute. Back up! You want to provide teamwork training, presumably to help them to work together better as a team, while they are expected to compete against each other? Sounds almost like an oxymoron to me.

The heaviest dose of team-building, training, or rah-rah-rah inspirational/motivational pep talks can’t get these people to function as a team when they are required to compete against each other for their livelihood. That system is inherently flawed.

Policies, procedures, systems, processes all have to be established to set your team members up for success. Do you periodically re-evaluate and re-assess yours to make sure that they still make sense?

Duh!

What will you:

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

to make sure that you’re leading your team and preparing them success rather than failure?

Use the comment box below to share your action plan and experiences 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.

More articles by Jennifer:

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

12-Step Program to Detox Your Team

Does your workplace culture or your team environment resemble a daytime soap opera? Do new workplace dramas unfold among your team members each Monday morning? Are spats and tiffs between team leaders the norm? (Do you often hear music crescendo in the background and then cut to a commercial break?)

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives…

If so, then your workplace culture is ill, and I’m afraid it’s not a make-believe disease a` la General Hospital, nor can it be cured in a 30-minute episode. You may be suffering from “Toxic Team Syndrome!”

I’ve been hired to play doctor to cure these toxic work environments. It’s tough to diagnose your particular problem. I’m no doctor, and no – I don’t even play one on TV. But I’m willing to bet that these problems are merely symptoms of leadership failings and missteps, such as:

  1. Lack of leadership vision
  2. Poor leadership communication
  3. Failure to develop team members
  4. Leaders who are unconscious and unaware of their impact on others
  5. Team members forced to compete against each other (and actually, that statement is an oxymoron)
  6. “Leaders” function more like managers in that they focus only on managing processes, systems, things, and pay little attention to mentoring, engaging, or inspiring people
  7. Bored team members
  8. Leaders who use a one-size-fits-all approach
  9. No emphasis/effort in creating a positive work culture

Thankfully, for you as the executive leader, it’s not a fatal disease – if you catch it early. The first step is to recognize that you have a problem. Don’t be in denial. The bottom line is that you can’t cure the disease if you don’t admit that you’re sick.

So many leaders are absolutely clueless to the work environment they’ve created.

Yep, I did say that you create the work environment. So if your work environment is like a soap opera drama, you can correct it over time. Here, I have listed my

12-step program for detoxifying your team:

  1. Explain to each team member how his/her work contributes to the bigger picture.
  2. Get to know team members and focus on drawing out the best that they have to give. Serve as a mentor, guide, and inspiration to team members.
  3. Leadership is an inside job. Identify your own strengths, limitations, blind spots, etc. Lead from a place of self-assurance and confidence.
  4. Clue people into the bigger picture – share your vision for the organization.
  5. Treat each person as an individual but don’t play favorites.
  6. Don’t participate in, nor tolerate malicious workplace gossip. Establish a professional atmosphere where all team members are treated in a respectful manner.
  7. Reward, recognize and encourage teamwork and avoid creating situations that require team members to compete against one another.
  8. Provide team members with a variety of development opportunities and cross-train team members where appropriate.
  9. Err on the side of over-communication. Effective leaders know they can’t communicate too much with team members.
  10. Ask for, and really listen to, feedback from team members, customers, and superiors. And then make changes where needed!
  11. Work hard to build and maintain trust and loyalty. NEVER discuss one team member’s issues, problems, or situation with another team member.
  12. Strike a balance between setting yourself above (and superior) to your team and being one of the “guys.” Somewhere in the middle is best.

YOUR TURN! What will you:

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

to “detoxify” your team and your team’s work environment? Share your action plan with us in the comment box below!

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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