Sep 28 2010

Developing Leadership in Youth: 7 Tips for Aspiring Young Leaders

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I was once asked what advice I would offer to young people who intended to pursue a career that involved leading others. I gave it some thought and realized that such advice would apply to all young people, not just those who aspired to leadership at a young age because some who do not think of leadership now will find themselves to be leaders later on in life. Here are seven suggestions for young people.

1. Don’t lose your enthusiasm. You bring a fresh view and enthusiastic approach to the issues. This may annoy older members of the organization and there will be those who tell you that you can’t change anything, or that’s just the way it is. Don’t let them extinguish your passion!

2. Learn to communicate. That is, learn to communicate as the professional world does, which is different from social media and texting. The business world still likes to see proper grammar and complete sentences. Learn to get your point across quickly and succinctly. This goes for email as well. Also, get comfortable speaking. Learn to stand in front of people and get your point across briefly but clearly. Conquer stage fright. The best way to do that is by being confident in what you are presenting. Get your facts together, know your subject, then tell them what you know.

3. Keep learning. When you complete your formal education, it is very tempting to say, “That’s it, I’m not studying anymore.” But, you must never stop learning. You’ll learn about your job, you’ll learn about people, you’ll learn about the industry and the company. Don’t stop there. Learn about the issues of the day; learn about trees, or rocks, or cephalopods if you like. The point is, don’t let your brain get stagnant. You’ll find that many of history’s great leaders had wide and varied interests. It’s what kept them going.

4. Learn about people. This is probably the most difficult thing you can do, but it will also be one of the most beneficial. In the 17th century, the poet John Donne penned the words “No man is an island.” In those five words Donne summed up one of the most important aspects of leadership. You exist in a complex system and you’re part of a team. The more you understand the others in that complex system, the more you will thrive.

5. Don’t try to change everything — but look for things that can be improved. You and your generation are going to change the world; each generation does. But you aren’t going to change everything, or change things all at once. It’s common for new people to want to change everything as soon as they start in a new position. Nothing will annoy both bosses and subordinates faster. Subordinates may feel you’re trying to change what they’re comfortable with before you know all the details, while bosses may see your desire for change as a challenge to their authority, or indictment of their achievements. With this caution in mind, don’t hesitate to look for things that can be improved. You bring a fresh perspective and a new set of eyes to the organization and you will see things that the more established members don’t. But, be cautious and consider all the factors before trying to make a change.

6. Maintain a sense of personal humility. Chances are, fairly early in your career, someone will help you attain a certain level of humility. You will provide them with the opportunity and they will take advantage of it. There will always be someone who knows more than you or has a talent you don’t. Cultivate them and encourage their knowledge and skills. The role of the leader is often that of the humble servant.

7. Go the extra mile. Be willing to take on things others won’t. Doing this will show more senior leaders that you aren’t afraid to take on difficult tasks and, who knows, that project that seemed unpleasant might turn out to present a new opportunity.

Above all else, embrace your future and its possibilities!

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Sep 23 2010

Can Leaders Motivate With Money?

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Is money a motivator? Can leaders buy a higher level of employee engagement? The short and typical consultant answer is yes and no. We need to look at human needs and how people are motivated to meet those needs.

In the middle of the 20th century, Dr. Abraham Maslow developed his Hierarchy of Needs. He postulated that the most basic human need was survival; food, water, shelter, etc. Until they are met, survival needs will be the primary motivator for humans and they are not likely to pursue any others. But when survival needs are met, there is no motivation to acquire more and motivation moves on to higher order needs. What tends to cloud the picture a little is the perception of what a survival need really is. If a person feels comfortable living in a modest home on a hamburger budget, their needs are more easily satisfied. But, if that person feels a need to live on a steak budget in a large home, it may be harder to move beyond the motivation to meet the survival need. As we settle into the 21st century, it seems a larger number of people are having trouble separating needs from wants, making the reality of need fulfillment a little more difficult to compute, though as I’ll discuss shortly, once the basic needs are met, motivation still turn to other things.

So what about motivators? Leaders are most effective when they consider motivators as something that drives a person to do something, remembering that motivators are internal to an individual. Maslow talked about internal motivators that activate in an attempt to meet a need. Frederick Herzberg identified two factors that influence people. First, the unfortunately named Hygiene Factors are things that can cause dissatisfaction, but are not motivators. Herzberg specifically included salary in that group. The second category is motivational factors. He said that these are internal to the person. Motivational factors include such things as personal achievement and growth. Herzberg’s research found that removing Hygiene Factors did not cause an employee to be motivated, but did increase the worker’s potential for improved output.

When Maslow and Herzberg are considered together, one can see that a worker who is not receiving sufficient pay to secure the basic survival needs is motivated primarily to meet those needs. Though salary itself is not a motivator, the need for survival is. Once that survival need is met, a person moves on to other needs. If they are receiving pay which they feel is insufficient for the work being done, or the talents they bring to the job, that situation may lead to dissatisfaction which can stand in the way of better performance. But, increasing the pay serves only to decrease the dissatisfaction, not to motivate a worker to improved work.

Many studies through the years, such as a 2008 Gallup study, demonstrated that while pay is a factor in job satisfaction, it is not the primary reason for employees who are dissatisfied and quit their jobs.

So, returning to the original question it would seem that increased pay will not, as a rule, increase employee motivation, nor will it buy employee engagement. Rather, leaders must find those things that motivate their employees. Lack of money can cause dissatisfaction, but money can’t buy motivation!

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Sep 21 2010

The Cost of Turnover in the Retail Industry: Those Associates Who Quit Are Costing Big Dollars!

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What is your company paying for employee turnover? Often senior leadership doesn’t give much attention to turnover at the lower levels, but they should because it’s costing the company a lot of money.

Let’s say your company pays associates $8 per hour. Let’s further assume the associates average 30 hours per week. Doing the math, that means $12,480 per year for one associate. Of course that’s just salary and doesn’t include any other benefits or bonuses you pay. But we’ll use the $12,480 as an annual expense for one part-time employee. Now let’s assume you have 30 associates in an average store. That means your base cost for labor in that store is $374,400 per year. Naturally, there are a lot of variables, like part-time versus full-time, individual pay scales, temporary holiday help, and others. But for the purposes of argument, we’ll use this figure.

Now, consider two factors impacting employment decisions. First, it costs anywhere from 50% to 150% of an employee’s annual salary to replace them. That’s a wide range because there are several variables involved. One of those that many leaders fail to consider is the cost of lost sales and production resulting from an experienced worker who must take time to train yet another new associate. To be conservative, we’ll use a 50% cost.

The second factor affecting employment decisions is the turnover rate. In retail that rate ranges from about 75% to as much as 110%. In the current economic climate, it’s been closer to the lower number so we’ll use that. Rounded down, that means of the 30 associates in the store, you will have to replace 22 of them each year. So, 22 associates times $12,480 per associate is $274,560, or a 73% increase in your labor cost! Now, here’s the kicker. What’s your margin? How much more will you have to sell to increase your intake by enough to cover that increased cost? Oh yea, you also need to multiply $274,000 by the number of stores the company operates. And, you’re going to make up that additional cost with a workforce on the floor that is perpetually 75% new people.

Hopefully those numbers have captured your attention because you need to consider one more question. Why is your turnover so high? It’s costing you a lot of money, so you probably should be trying to answer that question. Here’s a suggested answer: your store management staff is probably working to help employees decide to quit. No, it’s not usually intentional and of course not all managers are bad leaders, some are quite good. But for the most part, store managers have not learned the techniques of good leadership. Why?

Research by the Gallup organization revealed that three fourths of the employees who quit their jobs did so for reasons that are influenced by managers! Amazing! Often the root cause is managers who get little or no training in the art of leading people.

When you put it all together it seems to indicate that when managers are not taught basic leadership concepts labor costs can significantly increase. Does this describe your company?

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Sep 14 2010

Four Do’s and Four Don’ts in Goal Setting

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I was talking to an engineer who was complaining about management. No news there, but he made a valid point. He was objecting to the goals his management was setting because he saw them as goals to further the particular manager rather than the company.

Unfortunately, that isn’t an unusual situation and is indicative of self-possessed leaders who don’t understand how to properly use goal-setting as an effective leadership tool. Goals should only emerge after a leadership team has developed a clear understand of the company’s mission, the values guiding the company’s operations, and a review of obstacles that might get in the way of goal accomplishment. Only after these factors are understood should leaders attempt to set goals and then each goal should be evaluated to ensure a direct link to mission accomplishment as well as adherence to the company’s values.

Here are four things leaders should do when setting goals.

1. Make sure each goal is directly tied to the company’s mission. Remember, the purpose of goals is to drive company success.

2. Once the leadership team has determined the goals for the company, allow those with the expertise in the area concerned to review those goals and help develop the necessary objectives to make the goal a reality. Use the experts. Usually, they don’t want to run the company, but they also don’t want to be chasing rabbits on a frivolous mission.

3. Communicate the goals. This is probably one of the most important aspects of goal setting. Everyone in the company needs to know not only what the goals are, but what their part is in accomplishing those goals. That doesn’t mean breaking out the pom poms and leading a cheering session. It usually isn’t difficult to help most people understand their part in making the goal a success, especially if they’ve been involved in the process.

4. Follow-up and periodically review the goals. Goals that don’t have regular follow-up by leadership are worthless! Review all the goals annually. That doesn’t mean goals must be accomplished in a year, just that they need to be reviewed to ensure they’re still valid. The world changes rapidly and what was important last year may not be important now.

There are four specific things leaders should not do in setting goals.

1. Don’t arbitrarily set goals just so there will be goals.

2. Don’t use goals as competition with other leaders. Your people will not appreciate being used as pawns in your personal chess game.

3. Don’t set goals that are not directly related to the mission statement. Goals are a means of accomplishing the mission. Yes, there are things you must do every day that are not directly tied to mission support, but they should not rise to the level of a goal. If they do, valuable resources are most likely being misdirected.

4. Don’t set goals in a vacuum. Leaders must understand the hard truth that they usually aren’t as smart as they think they are.

When used inappropriately, goals can have a powerful, yet negative, effect. When these points are followed though, goals are a potent tool for helping any organization excel!

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Aug 17 2010

Is it Time to Review Your Strategic Plan?

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During my seminars on strategic planning, I mention that in most cases, strategic planning should be a revolving 1-year process. That means that every year the senior leadership should accomplish the planning process and adjust as necessary. The exception is organizations in which senior leaders find themselves in a position where emergency actions must be taken to save the organization or maybe stay out of jail. In that case, a six month cycle is better time frame.

The question I’m sometimes asked is why a 1-year cycle when many business plans are based on a 5 year cycle. It’s a valid question. Let me explain.

The strategic plan is a basic document that defines why the organization exists, what it does, and how it does it. To do that, it must stick with the basics.  It’s important to understand what the strategic plan is not. It is not a business plan, though it is an essential part of a business plan. It is not a marketing plan, though the marketing plan should be based on the strategic plan.

The organization will change over the course of a year and the plan must be able to change with it. While most parts of the plan will not change much, some will. A strategic plan that is not current will not be effective.

All this is not to say that the organization should have only 1 year goals. Quite the opposite. When reviewing the plan, the leadership team can remove those goals which have been completed and review those that are still in progress. It’s possible that a change over the last year has made a goal less important, or maybe it has become impossible to accomplish. It’s better to identify this than let the goal just sit there and fester. But, if a goal is still valid, but incomplete, there is no reason to change it.

Strategic planning should be a fairly short process. I usually accomplish the initial plan in 3 or 4 days because I’ve found when the process drags on longer than that, it can easily be overcome by events and never completed. When the initial plan is revisited a year later, the process is even shorter, as many of the details will not change that much. Therefore, this annual plan review can be accomplished without the great expenditure of time and effort that would be required if the plan was reviewed and revised on a 5-year basis.

If your strategic plan is more than 1 year old it’s time for a review.

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Aug 12 2010

Five Things to Look for in Potential Leaders

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You need to find someone to move into the next open management position. There are several people with the technical expertise, but being an enlightened leader yourself, you are looking for some ability to lead people, not just manage the department. How do you find that special person who will be a good leader?

If only there was an easy answer to that! There isn’t, but there are some definite characteristics you should be seeking. Of course, you want someone with technical expertise, but beyond that there are some critical traits that help signal potential leadership success.

1. Look for someone who has unquestionable integrity. A leader you can’t trust will be dangerous and you’ll spend a significant amount of your time watching what they do. No matter what other qualities the candidate may possess, if he or she doesn’t have integrity, they will be trouble.

2. How does your candidate relate with his or her co-workers? You’re not looking for the most popular person in the room, in fact that can be a negative sign because a person who is always popular may not have the organization’s best interest at heart. The ideal leadership candidate is one who is respected by the majority of co-workers. But, more importantly, he or she treats all co-workers with respect. This is a difficult test but a leader who doesn’t treat others well will not be as effective as one who does.

3. Does your candidate display an eagerness to learn new things? This doesn’t mean a person who is willing to learn something when tasked with something new but rather is constantly seeking out new information and stretching to gain more knowledge. This is a critical trait for a good leader.

4. Do your candidate’s co-workers naturally follow him or her? This can be a two-edged sword. Someone to whom people naturally gravitate can become a great leader, but they sometimes require a little more training and supervision specifically because of this natural ability. Sometimes called “born-leaders” they are usually charismatic and can often get their way without much regard to how others, especially those higher in the supervisory chain, feel about what they’re doing. If your candidate seems to have this ability, that’s fine, just make sure they stay in bounds.

5. How does your candidate relate to authority? Ideally, you’re looking for someone who respects authority and yet isn’t afraid to present thoughtful suggestions and opposing views. The ability to observe this skill is very much dependent on the leadership culture within your organization. It’s important though for leaders to be able to interact with authority figures without undue fear.

Remember that leadership is a learning process for new managers and they are not likely to be experts right away. There will be hiccups along the way, but if you’ve selected for these traits, you probably won’t be disappointed.

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Aug 10 2010

Developing a New Leader

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For some inexplicable reason, there is a tendency to pick someone as the next manager and give them no training for their leadership role. Senior leaders will watch the new manager flounder and eventually proclaim that they “just weren’t leadership material.” There are many sources of leadership training available of which some organizations take advantage and some don’t, but training for your new leader must extend beyond those short training opportunities. Real leadership training occurs day-to-day, on the job, and builds on those fundamentals.

The leader’s trainer must accept that, just like training for a new employee, training a new leader will require some time and effort. In many ways, leadership can be more complex than the skills being led. When your new leader starts, what you do as a trainer will determine what sort of leader they become. Here are some actions to help your new leader excel.

1. Start by delegating small tasks. I don’t recommend the sink-or-swim technique at this point. It’s usually not smart to start with a major project upon which hinges the future of the company. Yes, this means you may have to cover for some things while your new leader learns the ropes; it’s just like training any new employee. Give good directions, make your expectations clear, and ensure they understand the desired outcome and any do’s and don’ts along the way. You may need to step in and make course corrections, but not too quickly. They won’t learn to think for themselves if they know you’re going to be right there to answer all the questions.

2. Your trainee needs to see the tough side of leadership early on. That doesn’t mean you leave them stranded in the desert, but don’t coddle them either. Failure is a natural part of life; no one wins all the time. Learning how to handle failure is an important lesson for leaders. The sooner they start to develop a thick skin, the better. When they mess something up or make the wrong decision you need to tell them about it. Hold them accountable. Too many leaders develop an attitude that they can blame others for their mistakes. That doesn’t mean you chop off their head at the first mistake. Instead, make the effects of their decision clear, then help them determine a better course of action.

3. Encourage new leaders to take risks. This is very hard to do because their risk is your risk as well, and their failure is your responsibility. A good leader has to be able to assess risk and decide what is worth taking and what isn’t. A good way to approach this is to sit down and discuss the idea you feel might be risky. Have the trainee explain all the pros and cons and explain why they think one outweighs the other. You’ll probably need to fill in some blanks learned from your own experience.

4. Celebrate their success. That doesn’t mean constant cheering for every little thing. But, when they have done something well, tell them. It’s very easy to only criticize, but positive reinforcement is a much better motivator and teacher.

Training leaders is not an easy job. Just like any other skill in your organization, talent and expertise is built over time. Training first time leaders will have benefits far beyond their initial success.

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Aug 05 2010

Five Steps to Diverstiy Training for Leaders

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Though people of different nationalities have always been present in most work situations, the concept of handling diversity has become a big issue in the workplace, and thanks to an explosion of litigation, is a major concern for leaders. How does a leader deal with this diversity question? Often the answer is “diversity training” for which millions of dollars is spent each year. I contend that while diversity is a critical subject for a leader, specific training is probably not really necessary. The first thing to remember as a leader is that you set the example and people are watching. Therefore, as a leader you must treat everyone equally. That doesn’t mean quotas but rather that each employee has the same opportunity to be a contributing part of the organization. Of course, each individual is different and so the means of that equal treatment may be different.

Frankly, I’m not a big fan of “diversity training” – especially for leaders. That’s not to say if you have several people from Elbonia, (with a nod to Dilbert) you shouldn’t do a little study or consult an expert to learn about Elbonian culture. But, if you need training to teach you how to treat people who are not like you, then you probably shouldn’t be in the leadership position in the first place.

With that in mind, here’s what a leader needs to know about diversity.

1. Everyone is different with a unique background, beliefs, etc. Treating anyone in a particular manor because of their skin color, accent, dress, or any other external indicator is a mistake. Get to know the person beneath those outward signs and treat them with respect.

2. Treating any particular “group” with more deference than any other is stupid. In fact, refer to number 1. Never treat anyone as a member of any group other than the one you lead within the organization.

3. Remember that we live in (insert your country’s name here). We have our own traditions, culture, and beliefs formed over many, many years. While we welcome people from other places, knowing your inclusion into our society will make us better, we (insert nationality here) are not going to be what you came from.

4. If someone is from a different background than you are, and most everyone is, learn from them. You spend a lot of time with your co-workers and so it makes sense to learn a little about them. If they were raised in Japan, or Turkey, or South Carolina, or Mexico, or Indiana, or Germany, or anywhere else, they will have a different outlook. Learn from them. Get to know them.

5. We spend a lot of time trying to teach people not to offend anyone: a noble, yet impossible goal. A better approach is to treat everyone with the same respect and dignity you expect. The golden rule is still the best guide. On the other side of the coin, don’t be easily offended. Chances are that affront you just suffered was completely unintentional. Both parties in communication have a responsibility. The sender is responsible for expressing a message in a way that is clear and not intentionally offensive. The receiver has a responsibility to listen carefully and evaluate the message. To do that effectively, the receiver must be as attuned to the sender as he or she expects the sender to be to them.

We are all, regardless of race, nationality, creed, or anything else, human. We suffer the shortcomingings that comes with being human. As leaders, we are responsible to do our best to overcome those weaknesses and set the example for great interpersonal relationships.

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Aug 03 2010

Leading When The Boss Won’t Listen

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Why are executives less than willing to hear things from their subordinate leaders?

There’s an interesting phenomenon in the military. Often called the revolving door, it is common for military retirees to quickly return as civilian consultants. It makes a lot of sense for both the retiree and the military to continue to use expertise gained over many years. Here’s the really interesting part though. In many cases, the retiree, who may have become very frustrated with senior leadership’s apparent inability to accept their attempts at making improvements, find that those same leaders now seek out their advice and counsel.

While this example tends to be unique to the military (but not entirely) it is an illustration of something that is not uncommon in any leadership situation. Specifically, leaders tend to be less willing to accept advice and counsel from subordinates, while often seeking out the same assistance from outsiders. This is a great thing for those of us in the consulting business, but can be a bit frustrating for the subordinates in the organization. So why does this happen?

There are several reasons leaders don’t listen to their subordinates. The first is, quite frankly, their own insecurity. The thought that “if I take my subordinates advice on this I’ll appear weak and become vulnerable” becomes a governing fear, even though the opposite is usually more likely. People tend to respect a leader who will listen to, and seriously consider all opinions before making a decision.

Next is just plain ego. The higher a leader goes in the organization, the more they should guard against becoming ego driven. Ego tends to drive a “not invented here” mentality. The leader thinks, “If I didn’t think of it, then it must not be the best idea; after all, I know more than anyone else.” By the way, this problem isn’t restricted to individuals. Groups and even large organizations can fall prey to this as well; to their own detriment.

Third, there is an odd, almost symbiotic relationship between leaders and consultants. The leader usually has chosen the consultant, is paying him or her directly, and so has an expectation that the consultant is going to provide good advice and counsel. What’s really odd about this is that the leader is probably paying his or her own people even more in the long run. There’s a perception though that the consultant is costing money and therefore should be provide a return on investment.

All this is not to say that a leader should not utilize the expertise, experience, and especially the outside view a consultant can provide. That would be foolhardy. But just as silly is using a consultant at the expense of the leader’s own people and the experience and expertise that already exists within the organization.

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Jul 29 2010

Ten Questions Leaders Should Ask Employees

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Many years ago when I was a young worker just becoming a manager and leader and I wondered why my bosses never asked my opinion. In fact they seldom asked me anything. That seemed strange to me; after all I had infinite knowledge and the wisdom of youth and leadership certainly could have gained from seeking my advice and counsel. Today I realize that I was half right. I was right that my leadership should have been asking me questions. I was wrong in what those questions should have been. Rather than asking my advice concerning their responsibilities, they should have been asking whether I understood some basic things about the organization and what I was there to contribute.

Here are ten questions a leader should ask.

1. What is the mission of this organization?

2. What is your part in making that mission happen?

3. Under what set of values does this organization operate?

4. Do you know your boss’ vision?

5. What gets in the way of doing your job?

6. What would help you do your job better?

7. Tell me about your best day here.

8. Tell me about your worst day here.

9. Do you feel you have a future with this organization?

10. Are you happy here?

The first four questions give the leader an idea whether the basic tenets of the organization are understood at the working level. Workers who understand these basic principles will normally produce better results.

The next four questions give the leader an idea how the worker sees his or her job. The value in the answers to these questions is often found in the aggregate. That’s because there will always be the individual worker for whom nothing goes right or who you happen to catch on a bad day. Likewise, there are sometimes workers who would never dream of complaining and so won’t tell you anything that might be even remotely construed as negative. But, when taken together, the answers to these four questions paint a picture of things that might be getting in the way of progress and other things that are working well that might be worth expanding.

The final two questions might seem a little touchy feely for some but they are important as a gauge of morale. Of course, just because that guy in receiving isn’t happy doesn’t mean you’re going to change everything, but if a number of people aren’t happy you need to find out why. Whether or not workers feel they have a future with your organization is an indicator that’s more important today than it was thirty years ago. People today are much more likely to leave a company because they don’t see a future than years ago when such fluidity was not as common. Again, if a number of employees don’t see a future with the company, you have a metric that bears a little further investigation.

You may be hesitant to ask these questions, assuming you won’t get valid answers from people who are fearful of saying anything to the boss. That’s a legitimate concern, so don’t ask these questions yourself. Have someone from outside ask them; someone with whom the employees can feel free discussing the issues. Introduce that person and ensure the employees that you will only be given an overall assessment that will not include names or details. Instruct the person asking the questions to engage people in open discussion to get more than just yes and no answers.

The answers to these 10 questions will be a gold mine of information that can help your organization excel.

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