Break the rules, set some standards

I was at the Empower conference presented by CareerBuilder this week and had the amazing pleasure of hearing Coach Mike Krzyzewski, also known as Coach K, speak about the importance of obtaining great talent. Now, let’s get one thing out of the way – as some of you may know, I’m a very proud graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison so there’s no doubt I was rooting for the Badgers to take the men’s basketball championship this year. And, that’s exactly what it looked like was going to happen until Duke made a jaw-dropping comeback.

I’ve always been a Coach K fan even though I’m a Badger at heart but I became an even bigger fan after hearing him speak.

Ownership: You don’t work for something; you are something. – Coach K

He talked to us about how he recruited the best players to Duke, reminding us that hiring for character is just as important as hiring for talent or skill. One of the most important lessons I took away from Coach K’s presentation is that strong teams don’t have rules; they have standards that they agree to. Some of the standards that Coach K has set with his teams include:

  • No excuses.
  • Always be on time.
  • Always be honest and tell each other the truth.

This got me thinking about my own team and field of work and what type of standards I would set with my teams. So, I talked to them. Leading a training team, here are some standards I feel are important:

  • No excuses; always be on time; always be honest and tell each other the truth. Why wouldn’t I steal those from Coach K?
  • We don’t always have to be the best but we should always try to be our best. We strive to be better every day.
  • Never stop thinking. If we stop thinking, we stop creating, innovating and improving.
  • Share our ideas and our knowledge. No one likes an information hog.
  • Be proactive about learning. Don’t wait for someone to teach us something but rather, seek opportunities to learn.
  • Hold each other accountable. Don’t be afraid to call each other out. It makes us better.

Developing standards for a team allows everyone to be on the same page, work towards a common goal and be accountable to each other. What standards would you add to this list for your team?


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Want employees to step up? Make them a plate to step up to!

Why do so many leaders throw out the word “accountability” as if it’s magical and will just make people successful? Trust me, I believe 100% in holding people accountable. In fact, I write about it, talk about it and live it out every day in my work.

The wake up call, however, is that accountability is not something that just happens. We can’t just tell people what to do and then punish them if they don’t do it. “Do this, or else…” and “My way or the highway.” are threats, not forms of accountability.

Accountability is nothing without proper training, guidance, support, development, assistance, patience and leadership. Managers tend to focus so much on “what” they need to hold their staff accountable for that they often forget “how” to actually accomplish such a thing. They forget that if they want employees to step up to the plate, they need to give the employee a plate to step up to.

When I say “a plate to step up to,” I don’t necessarily mean that there needs to be a promotional opportunity or financial incentive. I mean that we need to give people a reason to step up. We need to motivate people if we want to succeed as leaders.

The years of 30, 40 and 50 year service pins are gone. Employees are going to have more choices than ever before when it comes to jobs. With an overwhelming amount of job boards at their fingertips and websites such as Glassdoor, the future of job-seeking is going to look more like job shopping. The ball is now in the jobseekers’ court, not the employers’ court.

As organizational leaders, we need to find ways to get the most out of our people and give the most back to them. Our jobs are harder than ever but if we do it right, our hard work will pay off. We need to personalize our relationships with each employee so we know what motivates them to step up to the plate and do their best work. Then, we need to create that plate for them and help them step up to it.

I used to shop at Express simply because I liked their clothes and well, that’s all it used to take to gain my business. If I liked your product, I bought it. They’ve never provided poor customer service. Their staff is as friendly as the next store but I stopped shopping there. Why? I found something better!

I went into a White House Black Market one day and who would have known but the experience changed my life…or at least my shopping experiences. Their clothes were no better than Express, in my opinion. An associate approached me, not to see if I needed any help, which is the question most store associates ask. “Do you need any help?” is a yes or no question. At White House Black Market, they asked me what I was looking for today and how they can help me get what I’m looking for. They made me think. I had to come up with the reason I was there, a goal.

I needed some new work clothes. The associate spent about five minutes walking around the store with me seeing what I picked out. She was checking out my taste in style, my size, my color choices, etc. She then said to me, “I’m going to take what you’ve picked out and start a fitting room for you. Then, while you try these on, I’m going to continue shopping for you. I’ll have more outfits ready when you’re done with what you’ve already picked out. We’ll keep trying until you have what you need.” I had a personal shopper! Coolest thing ever and it was free! Her picks were spot on with my taste!

That’s personalization, if I’ve ever seen it! Why not do the same thing with that “plate” we need our employees to step up to? Whether you like it or not and whether you believe it or not, employees are constantly shopping for jobs. Even if they are not actively seeking a job, people are dangling job postings, interview appointments and job offers in their faces constantly – LinkedIn InMail, position advertisements on every website, email alerts from Indeed, conferences and other networking events.

If we don’t personalize that “plate” that we expect our employees to step up to, we’re going to lose them and that accountability you were trying to force on them is completely irrelevant. Talk to your staff, find out what makes them tick and use that to create motivation and build accountability.

To most leaders’ surprise, employees actually appreciate accountability. They want to set goals with you and be motivated to meet them. They won’t do those things though if you’re micromanaging them, providing a negative work environment for them and giving them unrealistic expectations to work with.

What does each of your employees’ “plates” look like? Does it have money on it? Is there a career development plan on it? Does it have a learning opportunity on it? Is there some recognition or reward on it? Does it have a touching story on it? Maybe, there’s just a big smile and nice pat on the back waiting for them on the “plate,” and that might just be enough for them to step up.

Remember, though, that fair is not always equal. Motivation comes in all different shapes, sizes and methods. Either way, it has to be personal and mean something to the person you’re trying to motivate, the person you’re trying to get to step up. If that plate doesn’t have what they’re looking for, they won’t step up; they’ll step away to find a different plate to step up to.

So, are you serving up a plate of motivation?

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Listening isn’t good enough, great leaders act

There’s been quite a buzz recently about listening skills. Many books, presentations and posts/articles have surfaced that talk about how listening is the newly found or hidden skill of leadership. The authors talk about how so many leaders lack this skill. While I think listening is very critical to leadership, I certainly do not believe it is a skill that people lack. In fact, I think many people are good listeners. The skill that many leaders lack is the ability to act on what they hear.

When it comes to being an effective leader, listening isn’t enough. It’s only a good skill to have if you know how to use it. You’ll never gain the trust or respect of your employees unless you act on what you hear. It’s great that you care and that you don’t talk over people but if all you do is listen and then let the conversation drift into the past without any action, employees will stop coming to you.

I had a manager once who was a fantastic listener. When I started, he was so kind and approachable. He never turned me away when I needed to talk about something, express my concerns about a project or just vent. His listening skills gave me a great first impression. That impression didn’t last long though.

I would express concerns about unethical practices and major performance issues. He always encouraged me to continue reporting my concerns and always welcomed me to go into his office to talk about them. However, after about the third time I had to go to him for the same concern because nothing was being done about it, I realized that he was still listening but that he did not know how to act on what he heard. He always had an excuse as to why I was not seeing results.

Here are some common themes employees hear repeatedly from bosses who are great at listening but terrible at addressing what they hear:

  • Playing the “I wasn’t aware” card: “Oh, nothing changed? I didn’t know nothing changed. Thanks for telling me.” Years later, nothing changes.
  • Playing the memory card: “I don’t remember us talking about that but I’m glad you’re telling me now.” Years later, nothing changes.
  • Playing the “oops” card: “Oh my, I’m so sorry. I completely forgot to follow-up on that. Thanks for reminding me.” Years later, nothing changes.
  • Playing the “let’s see how things go” card: “I didn’t forget about our conversation. I just want to give it some time and see how things go. I really think they’ll get better.” Nope, the magic trick didn’t work…years later, nothing changes.

So, my boss was a good listener, but it wasn’t enough. It didn’t stop the inappropriate behavior. It didn’t stop the hostile work environment. It didn’t help build teamwork. It didn’t make us work more productively. It didn’t instill confidence or trust.

Eventually, I lost almost complete trust in my manager. I felt defeated, discouraged and disengaged. I never went to him again with a concern, a problem or even an idea.

I vowed never to make assumptions like that when I became a leader. Just like silence doesn’t mean an employee no longer has concerns, listening skills doesn’t mean someone is a good leader. To be effective as leaders, we need to take what we hear and see (yes, nonverbal cues too) from our employees and act on those things. We need to address their concerns even if we conclude that they are not found. We need to provide answers to their questions even if that means the answer is “I don’t know but I’ll find out.” We need to address their behaviors and their performance even if that means having a difficult conversation.

It’s a terrible thing to listen to someone but not hear what they are saying.

Effective leaders act and get results.


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