Yearly Archives: 2024

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Front-load accountability. 

In most instances, our society tends to use the term accountability to determine who we punish when something has gone wrong. As leaders who are growing are people who, in turn grow our organizations, let's try a different approach to accountability. Let's "front-load" accountability. Here is what I mean. When you front-load accountability, you include specificity in your commitment. We don't simply say, "I expect you to do a good job." When we front-load, we clarify precisely what we want to be done, what success looks like, and why this is important. There is no ambiguity to the expectation. In an accountability culture, people take ownership of what is expected of them. They feel responsible for their team members and [...]

By |2024-06-18T13:05:54+00:00June 5th, 2024|Leadership|0 Comments

What is your main event?

The main event is a practice John Maxwell shared with a group of us a while back. Most leaders have their inner circle or their executive team. Typically, there are regular meetings, often referred to as the weekly or daily huddle. It is an opportunity for team members to learn what is happening in their respective worlds, including issues, opportunities, reporting progress, etc. The main event is an activity, appointment, or project for that day or week, depending on the frequency of the meetings. It is added to the reporting. The main event definition requires the team member to be 100% all-in. It becomes mission-critical. As an extreme example, it is acceptable if nothing else gets done that week or day [...]

By |2024-06-18T13:05:06+00:00May 29th, 2024|Leadership|0 Comments

The customer experience. 

Today, I remind us to focus on creating a lasting customer experience. Ask yourself, "What is it like to experience our company, department, business, or division?" What is the experience our customers are receiving?" As leaders, we are in control of the customer experience. I strongly believe that the experience starts with the first interaction with the customer. The interaction could be on the phone or in person. Whatever the situation, you will only have one attempt at creating a strong first impression. I realize this is elementary and basic. It is: basics win championships. It is easy for us to overlook the first impression as we are focused on providing customer service. Of course, customer service is critical; I'm [...]

By |2024-06-18T13:03:38+00:00May 22nd, 2024|Connecting|0 Comments

What does influence look like? 

I have come to believe the essence of leadership is simply influence. To be clear, I’m not referring to manipulation. The leader must be authentic to influence others positively and help change behavior. Recently, in one of my coaching sessions, I discussed influence with my client. She asked me for some examples of how best to gain influence. She wondered if there was a process or a system to follow. I responded that it was not; however, some factors must be present to gain influence. I explained that influence is earned over time. It doesn’t happen overnight; people will follow and buy into your leadership. I went on to discuss the following factors with her. I have found that the [...]

By |2024-06-18T13:02:32+00:00May 15th, 2024|Leadership|0 Comments

The importance of delegation.

All leaders know how important delegation is. We have many tasks and activities that someone else on the team should be doing. Here is the challenge: when we get overloaded, the temptation is to just "get this off my to-do list." Care must be taken to ensure we are not pushing our work to someone else. That is not delegation. When delegating, we must be confident that the other person can execute the task effectively. Below are some questions to consider before delegating. Do they have time? Do they need help prioritizing? Have they expressed interest in the task or project? Do they have the necessary skills to execute? Do they typically meet deadlines? If others are involved, do they [...]

By |2024-05-07T16:50:01+00:00May 7th, 2024|Empowering, Leadership|0 Comments
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