Inspiring Leaders – Inspiring Teams

I am pretty sure anyone who leads people hopes that he/she is inspiring.  However, I think most of us fall short of the mark of being a truly inspirational leader.  That’s why, when someone is known for this trait dies, it’s sad

Recently, we lost legendary coach, Pat Summit. She was the long-time coach of the University of Tennessee’s women’s basketball team.  Liz Clarke of the Washington Post called her a “national treasure, enduring role model, ultimate champion.” Those are powerful words but consider this, President Obama said, “Her legacy however, is measured much more by the generations of young women and men who admired Pat’s intense competitiveness and character, and as a result found in themselves the confidence to practice hard, play harder, and live with courage on and off the court.”

Pat Summit inspired her players and others who knew her to be the best they could be.  Her boss at UT said she was “a global icon who transcended sports and spent her entire life making a difference in other people’s lives.”

Most of us don’t live our lives in the public eye or have the opportunity to coach a new group of players every few years. But we do have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the people we do manage.  We can do that by really and truly listening to our employee’s wants and needs and by steering them in a direction that will set them on the path to be productive employees and good corporate citizens.

We also can provide our employees with the best possible development opportunities to maximize their potential—even if it means they leave us and move on to another department or organization. An inspirational leader models courageous behavior and encourages employees to take calculated risks because he/she knows that’s how people learn and grow.  An inspiration leader believes in people and lets them know they have total support.

Pat Summit was loved by the women who played for her. She was admired by the coaches her teams competed with.  She was respected by professional athletes, parents, and world leaders.  I love what she wrote to one of her players in 1982:

“Winning is fun…Sure but winning is not the point.  Wanting to win is the point. Not giving up is the point. Never giving up is the point. Never being satisfied with what you’ve done is the point. The game is never over. No matter what the scoreboard reads, or what the referee says, it doesn’t end when you come off the court. The secret of the game is in doing your best. To persist and endure, ‘to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.’”

Now, that’s inspirational!  Thank you, Pat Summit!

Employee Retention

The retention of customers, employees or team members of any group or organization provides consistency, stability and saves time, money and resources. Regarding retention, I totally agree with what Barbara Mitchell and Cornelia Gamlem say in “The Big Book of HR.” They focus on enabling ways for employees to form connections:

·       to the organization,

·       to the work they do,

·       with each other,

·       and with their manager.

Here is what they say: “People connect to the organization by believing in its mission, vision, and values. They connect to the work they do by understanding where their work fits in — and how it supports the organization’s mission. They connect with each other to form teams and to pull together to get the work done as efficiently and accurately as possible. And they connect with their manager by being treated in a fair and equitable manner, and by knowing that their manager supports them and the work they do.”

These connections become solid, strong and meaningful when we invest adequate time, speak the truth and intentionally build trust.

Invest adequate time: Take time to share ideas and insights regarding how we are living and working in alignment with your mission, vision and values. Give opportunity for each team member to specifically identify how they fit and contribute to the overall process and the work of your business. Take time to train and practice working as a team. Ask employees and customers how you can best serve them and make things easier for them as they work for you or purchase your products and services.

Speak the truth: State directly and instill honesty as a value in your organization. Be truthful with all customers and employees about all areas of your business. Give complete, accurate and consistent information to all team members.

In all aspects of coaching, sharing feedback and evaluation, speak the truth. Open, direct and truthful communication establishes a culture where people can best share their questions, concerns and ideas. As this happens and is personally experienced and observed, customers and employees will enjoy an internal and external sense of security and peace of mind. An organization that has a culture of speaking the truth enables greater freedom of expression and exploring one’s potential. Ultimately everyone will wish to remain involved with your organization.

Intentionally build trust: Taking time and truthful communication build a solid foundation for trust. Beyond this, a focus on competence, confidence and consistency will ensure higher levels of trust. As you provide coaching, training and a variety of support systems for team members, their competence and confidence will increase. The final challenge regarding trust is to establish consistency. Giving intentional attention to consistency is a critical factor. This can best be done through discipline, evaluative feedback plus measuring and monitoring. This happens by holding self and each other accountable.

Building connections with time, truth and trust is not an easy task, yet when done intentionally and consistently over time, creates an environment of pride, comfort and synergy that is contagious and sustainable. It becomes a path to Retention!

Special thanks to Bernie Linnartz, of Empowerment Experts, is a consultant, coach and facilitator of individuals, teams, families and organizations, for contributing this week’s blog. 

How Managers Can Teach Employees To Solve Their Own Problems

Managers often find themselves trapped in the middle of situations that aren't theirs to solve. Say one of your team members comes to you pleading that you compel another of your direct reports to handling something a certain way. It's your job to give direction and make judgment calls, but where does that duty shade into arbitrating conflicts your teams should be handling?

To be fair, that's often a tough call. In some cases, an exasperated team member will take an issue up with their manager because they genuinely think their approach will lead to the best results. But chances are the person they disagree with is just as convinced of their own ideas. Before you intervene, think about the possible outcomes. If you step in, will it look like you're taking sides? Will your team be able to work together effectively afterward if you do? Ideally, both of your quarreling employees are valuable, and you want to keep both of them engaged, even if you can't make both happy.

But worst of all, arbitrating certain disputes robs your team members of developing their own conflict management skills. One of your other jobs as a manager is to help your team grow, both individually and together. To do that, you need to help them resolve some of their own issues collaboratively. Here are five tips to help managers do just that.

1. Know When And How To Intervene

Different circumstances call for different responses. If one employee’s weak performance is preventing other employees from getting their jobs done, you most certainly have a role to play. Address the performance deficiencies of that team member. If it comes down to an issue of harassment, stepping in is a much easier call, and your organization is legally required to investigate it. If an employee is struggling because of issues either in or outside the workplace, offer the support and resources you can in order to help them through it.

But if the matter comes down to disagreement over strategy or tactics involving a certain project, that might be a time to step back and encourage your team members to sort it out. You can and should give guidance, but you don't always need to make a final call from on high.

2. Give Your Employees Room To Grow

Employees need the freedom and authority to solve problems that relate to their work. Today’s workers (especially millennials) want training that helps them advance their career. So give them the opportunity to learn conflict management techniques and develop problem-solving skills. In the midst of a dispute, your team members can get frustrated and aren't always likely to see it as a teaching moment. That's where you come in.

Needless to say, every conflict requires its own response, but you should model the techniques and skills you want your employees to learn each time. It behooves your company to cultivate a staff that's capable not only of resolving issues and crises independently but of heading them off in the first place.

3. Recognize When Egos And Emotions Get In The Way

Define the problem and the impact it’s having in the workplace—tempers and egos aside. That won't calm everyone down automatically, of course, but it will help your team members focus on the issue itself and not how they feel about it. Remember that the dispute could involve someone's passion project. If emotions flare, help your employees control them so they don’t interfere with the resolution. Then give them space to work toward it. Call for a break and ask everyone to step away and reflect on things. It’s an opportunity to regain balance so conversations can carry on constructively.

4. Facilitate, Don't Dictate

As a manager who takes this approach, you’ll be a neutral observer. From that vantage point, you can help mediate the discussion. When you meet with the employees to do that, you should define roles and set ground rules. Again, the employees are the primary players here, not you. They're the ones who you want asking questions of each other and proposing solutions. You won’t offer advice, opinions, or solutions, even if asked. You’re there to keep the discussion on track.

5. Make The Conflict Mean Something

When team members butt heads over a project-related issue, it's sometimes the sign of creativity and innovation trying to break through. Employees who are close to the work often have great ideas for better solutions. So help them brainstorm these ideas, then help them evaluate and prioritize them.

When people sit down and talk, calmly and rationally, information is exchanged—not assertions, opinions, or insults. There's an opportunity to hear and understand different viewpoints. But as a manager, you need to create and protect those opportunities, otherwise they'll become far less productive than they can be. By coaching your team members to sit back down together and work things out, you'll end up strengthening their working relationships.

That employee who asks you to step in and resolve an issue may not know it at the time, but they're really asking for help to grow. So embrace the conflict, don't solve it. When everyone on your team can step up and own the issues they confront by working together, everyone benefits.

This article was originally appeared on fastcompany.com on September 28, 2015

Cornelia Gamlem & Barbara Mitchell

Building a Community

We all belong to a number of different social groups. Think about it. You may be the member of a church, a group around hobbies that you enjoy, or a professional organization. Other groups include your family, the neighborhood in which you live, the organization for which you work, the team or department in which you work. These are just some of the examples social groups to which we belong. Each of these groups forms a community.

The strength of a community lies in the hands of its leaders. The stronger its leadership, the stronger the ties the community members make.  I was reminded of this recently after receiving the unfortunate news about the passing of a former colleague. We lived and worked on different coasts, and we both left the organization over 15 years ago, Yet, there were still ties and other colleagues that bound us. I subsequently received a note from the leader of that community.  He talked about the closeness of that community and friendships that were formed among its members. We were a unique group. That caused me to stop and think about the strength of the community to which we belonged.

How do leaders, especially leaders in organizations, build strong communities?

·      They make sure that members honor each other.

·      The value the differences and contributions that each member brings.

·      They create opportunities for each member to learn and grow.

·      They ensure that members share their talents and knowledge with each other.

·      They ensure that confidences are honored and respected.

·      They ensure that all members have a voice and a chance to participate.

·      They encourage collaboration among members.

·      They encourage healthy debate and allow differing opinions to be heard.

·      They ensure that everyone is accountable for their actions and contributions.

·      They insist on mutual respect among all members.

·      They provide opportunity for camaraderie, friendship and fun.

This describes the community of HR professionals with whom I was privileged to work. Our leadership set the tone, but we all played a part in building a strong community. We worked hard. We learned from each other and we grew together. We made great contributions to the company – contributions of which we are still proud. We have all moved on as has the company. Many of us have stayed in touch, hear from each other, or run into each other from time-to-time. When we get together, whether in person or virtually, whether in good times or sad times, we can still celebrate the community we built.

Cornelia Gamlem

This post is dedicated to the memory of Rena McAfee and to all my other colleagues from CSC.