No Group Hugs Required

Yesterday our kids, 20 and 22, ran their first half-marathon, a great accomplishment for anyone, but especially so for these two non-runners. They set their goal. They trained. They even cleaned up their eating habits. And they crossed the finish line.

“One thing that really helped was all the people cheering us along the way,” my son said. “All that encouragement really helped us keep going.”

So easy to give. Too seldom done.

This past week one client was bemoaning how seldom people in his company give “atta-boys” to staff. He included himself in that group—giving praise and positive feedback doesn’t come naturally to him.

Nor is it natural for lots of folks in this business.

Surveys say the No. 1 reason an employee leaves is his or her manager. Employment Source Newsletter cited these top problems with managers:

• Doesn’t give feedback
• Doesn’t appreciate the work I do
• Doesn’t care about me or the other people

We are all familiar with the costs of employees leaving. We are all very aware of the tight labor market. We all like to be told we are doing a good job.

So, why don’t we say “well done,” “good job,” “thanks for your efforts” more often? It just takes a minute and costs nothing.

TRY THIS

A speaker from Vistage, an international CEO organization, shared this great exercise to help CEOs and others remember to give praise daily. I wish I could remember his name, so I could give him credit.

10 Pennies Exercise

Start out each morning with 10 pennies in your left pocket. The goal is to move the 10 pennies to your right pocket by the end of the day. You move a penny each time you praise someone. That’s all there is to it.

It sounds so simple, but everyone I know who has tried the exercise struggled with it. I’ve had a few clients try it with just five pennies and still not succeed.

Here are a few phrases to help you move those pennies.

“I appreciate your work on ….”

“You handled that situation well.”

“Good job on the . . .”

“Thanks for your hard work.”

“The client likes working with you.”

Or simply, “Thank you.”

I DON’T WANT TO HEAR…

A few folks out there will respond to this with “Why do I need to tell them they’ve done a good job? That’s what I pay them for.” That’s true, but get over it.

Human beings like to be valued for their contributions. Particularly in this tight labor market, you need to tell them you appreciate them. Just give ‘em an “atta-boy” and move a penny.

No group hugs required.

----Try the exercise and let us know how you do.

Delegate, Don't Abdicate

TODAY’S SITUATION

Williams Engineering is a midsize firm with three offices. Harry, the CEO, told me about a situation he was facing on a project that was being done by staff in Midville and Genoa City. It seems communications on the project had fallen through the cracks, with each office blaming the other for the problem.

Harry said, “I could just tell them to deal with it. Or I could get involved. I would like the staff to handle these types of issues on their own, but I don’t know if they know how.”

He decided to address the situation then delegate responsibility for future breakdowns, should they occur, to Chuck.

HOORAY FOR HARRY

Harry demonstrated his leadership skill with the decision he made. Too many leaders claim to delegate to staff, but what they really do is abdicate. Take Bill, for example. When staff came to him with a problem, he would just tell them to deal with it. That’s not delegation, that’s abdication. Here’s what true delegation looks like.

HOW TO DELEGATE

When you delegate, you teach others. Learning occurs.

1. Give someone the authority and responsibility to do something that is part of your job.

2. Let them know that you will hold them accountable.

3. Let them know exactly what you expect from them and particular outcomes if you know them.

4. Tell them what resources are available to them.

5. Be clear about all deadlines and why those deadlines count.

6. Establish a schedule for them to check back in with you for follow up.

7. Establish checkpoints to monitor their progress.

8. Sit back and let them prove themselves.

9. Hold them accountable.

10. Praise their good decisions and determine what lessons were learned.

THE DECISION TREE

Another tool that helps staff understand when they need to consult you or make decisions on their own is the Decision Tree.

You establish what a decision is for each level. This is also a great way to deal with those staff who keep coming to you to make every decision. Empower them.

BACK TO OUR FEUDING WHATEVERS

Here’s how Harry solved the situation with Bob and Chuck.

a. He had Bob and Chuck bring in all written communication—i.e., emails—from the dispute.

b. He had them bring pertinent project documents that specified what was needed and when.

c. He sat down with Bob and Chuck to review the facts of the situation.

d. Harry gave each man a chance to express his feelings about what happened.

e. Bob and Chuck, with Harry’s guidance, worked out ways to prevent such things from falling through the cracks again.

f. Harry delegated responsibility to Chuck to handle any future breakdowns.

THE RESULTS

Bob and Chuck have a better working relationship, which is good for the client and good for the company.

As a group, they identified gaps in their communication process that needed to be addressed.

Harry proved his leadership by helping Bob and Chuck address the situation, then delegating responsibility.

Bob and Chuck learned.

What can you delegate today? Get something off of your list and turn it into a learning opportunity for one of your direct reports.

Shooting for Line of Sight

I was meeting with Ming, CEO of a firm with 120 engineers and architects. Ming shared his dismay about staff’s perceptions about recent changes in the business. “We’ve had to make some cutbacks, due to a slowdown in the market. Some of those changes included cutting back on our training costs and requiring staff to strategically plan their trips to minimize travel costs and time away from the office.”

“As always, my staff engineers are questioning the changes. Their target is the business development folks. ‘You’re asking us to make cutbacks, but Don and Janet still play golf, go to ballgames, and more. They’re never in the office. Why are they so special?’

“I don’t know what to do to help the engineers understand why the business development (BD) staff do what they do.”

The situation

Ming’s dilemma is common to all businesses, regardless of size. The troops have tunnel vision. Each employee only knows his or her small piece of the business. They don’t understand that doing business is a long process, and they are each one little point in the process.

Let’s use the alphabet as a simple example. As you know, there are 26 letters that go from A to Z. Say your name begins with S. Then for you, S is the focus of your alphabet. As S, you don’t focus on the other 25 letters. If your name begins with C, C is your focus. As C, you don’t pay much attention to the other 25 letters.

Translating the alphabet into business processes

Staff in any business, not just engineering, only understand their individual role in the business cycle. BD folks don’t focus on the fact that project managers need to deliver on the promises the BD people make. The project managers don’t focus on the BD folks’ need to get repeat business with their clients. I hear it all the time.

We used to experience this in the newspaper business every day. If a reporter didn’t turn his story in on time to the city desk, it caused problems and delays all the way through the production and delivery process. A delay on the front end could easily lead to making the newspaper delivery guy late on his end.

What’s a boss to do?

You have to educate all employees on the entire business process, from the cold calls to get business, to getting the work done on time, to getting paid on time, to doing repeat work for each client. It doesn’t have to be in great detail, just give them an overview. One client has put together a timeline of the entire process and added names to key points in the process to give staff a better understanding of who the players are and where they function in the process.

Get your graphics person to create such a timeline and educate staff in a Lunch and Learn. Include the information in your company newsletter. Post it on a bulletin board that staff will see.

Key Data on This

Studies show that when employees have line of sight—an understanding of how their job fits in with the company’s strategic direction—financial returns are four times higher than otherwise. Sounds to me like it’s worth the cost of a few pizzas.