Joining the Team

At home, work or on an actual sports team, working as a team provides opportunities for learning a variety of people and relationship skills. One of those skills is to pay attention to and remember that when a new person becomes part of a group or team they typically have mixed emotions. On one hand there is excitement regarding newness and at the same time there are unknowns that raise questions, concerns and fears. So, when an individual joins your team, create ways to give care, support and special attention to the experience of assimilation.

Welcoming, orientation and support: Make a big deal of the arrival of the new team member. Prepare the new hire’s office or workspace in special ways. Start by making sure their space is clean, comfortable and inviting. A welcome sign, a plant or flowers give the message, “We are glad you are here.”  On the first day, have a brief welcome gathering with the entire team to introduce the new team member.

Be thorough with your orientation. Have a plan for the first few weeks to systematically cover the areas of your facility, products and the functional groups of your organization. Walk them through all of the customer contact points of how your business works.

Create support activities and systems. Here are some examples:

·       Have a brief meeting at the beginning and/or end of the day of the first two weeks to check signals and give supportive direction.

·       Designate one or two folks to be a buddy or mentor for the first month.

·       Be available and create your own unique way to take time to listen and hear their questions, concerns and ideas.

A 90-day plan of coaching and training, and a “360 degree” evaluation: Have a plan and process to provide specific information, resources and educational opportunities during the first 90 days. Ask how things are going. Adequate and personalized coaching, training and evaluation are critical during this time. “The Big Book of HR” suggest an Assimilation Evaluation at 30 days, a focused Check-in meeting for sharing issues at 60 days and a Performance Evaluation at 90 days.  As possible, make the sharing of feedback, checking in and evaluation an all level and direction (360 degree) give and take opportunity.

Most of all, make sure the whole team gets to know each other. Make the most of this joining the team phase. Just as with every customer, from the first time they step through your door, do all you can to establish a long-term personal and professional relationship. If you keep “long-term relationship building” foremost in your mind, heart and in all of your interactions – success, satisfaction and a growing profitable business will be yours.

At work, home and in the community, in any context “think team.” We are in a time and age of cooperation, coordination and collaboration. Be an intentional team!

Thank you Barbara Mitchell and Cornelia Gamlem for all the valuable insights in your book.

And our thanks to Bernie Linnartz, of Empowerment Experts for his series based on The Big Book of HR.  This first appeared in Taos News in March 31, 2016.

It's All About Relationships!

I recently read a post on LinkedIn Pulse written by a former colleague and current entrepreneur. Entitled "It's All about Showing Up," Karen Fields talked about her experiences, or lack thereof, of attempting to contact companies via their websites. She said that over a period of months "I personally filled out contact forms on thirty-five web sites and received zero responses." Voice messages received the same lack of response. Go figure. Why the lack of response to potential customers?

My frustration often comes from the other end of the spectrum – cold contacts and/or cold calls.  Nary a day goes by that I'm not interrupted from getting the business of my business accomplished. Emails litter my inbox offering services guaranteed to grow my business ten-fold -- solutions from organizations who nothing about the nature of my business.  At a minimum, I've got to waste time deleting them or take some action to get removed from their mailing list. And don't ask me why!  Cold calls – I try to ignore those, but when I see the same number constantly reoccurring, sometimes with minutes, I'll answer and try to explain that they are taking me away from my work. Occasionally, the caller gets it. Usually, they hang up on me! Is this a good business strategy? Does this develop a positive image of their firm? I don't think so.

Todd Cohen, author and consultant, works with companies who want to create a sales culture. He's written a book entitled "Everyone's In Sales." While the book's target audience is sales professionals, there's a good message for leaders in all organizations. Just as Zappos' CEO Tony Hsieh emphasizes that customer service is at the core of their company – it doesn't happen in a silo – Cohen's message is sales doesn't happen in silos either.  Think about it. Team members in all organizations need basic sales skills. Even if you're not directly involved in selling the goods and services of an organization, or supporting the sales team, all team members represent the organization's interests and values. Even non-profits have to sell its mission to others.

Cohen offers three skills that are essential to sales, all of which build on each other.

First is strong personal skills including qualities such as passion, energy, self-motivation, integrity, and the ability to work across the organization to understand and serve the customers, clients, or members in the case of non-profits or member-based organization.

Next is strong relationship skills including qualities such as humility, ego control, confidence, and personal responsibility.  Don't forget these related skills of building collaboration and listening.  Relationship building has to occur within the organization as well as with external stakeholders.  Just as team members want to work with other great team members, potential customers want to do business with people, not with an impersonal organization.  Are you listening cold callers?

Finally is excellent business acumen including an awareness of the total business environment.  When Cohen talks of this, he's referring to the selling organization and the ability to understand the needs throughout that organization. I'd add that understanding the needs of the potential customer's organization is equally important.  If you’re scraping the Internet and gathering web addresses, you're not demonstrating business acumen. You're engaging in a hit and miss approach. If you miss, you move on. A hit results in a quick sale, but not a relationship.

When you build relationships, you build trust. It's a message no leader can ignore.

Simple Requests – Simple Standards

How do simple requests turn into hostility? Consider the following situation that has perplexed me for some time.  I’ve been taking yoga lessons at the same studio for years. In addition to standard request to turn off your cell phones during class, there’s one other simple rule – standard – students and instructors are expected to follow – no shoes in the rooms where the practice takes place. I never asked why, but I’m sure it’s to prevent tracking dirt onto the carpets in the practice rooms. Many of the poses involving lying down on the floor.  Makes sense. There’s a place in the lobby to store your shoes and quickly retrieve them when you leave.

Once, at the beginning of a class, the instructor approached a student who wasn’t a regular in this particular session. The woman’s shoes were lying on the floor next to her yoga mat. The instructor respectfully reminded her that shoes were not allowed in the practice rooms. The woman got extremely defensive and argumentative, stating that she’d carried them in. When the instructor tried once again to very politely remind her of the rule – no shoes in the practice rooms – she became belligerent, arguing that she had to leave early and wanted all her belongings, shoes included, with her so she could make a quick getaway. One more gentle reminder from the instructor, and she grabbed her stuff and stormed out.

The poor instructor was bewildered and started asking those of us who overheard the exchange if we thought she’d been offensive. No she hadn’t – she was quiet and calm in her demeanor as she tried to explain the one, simple standard to which everyone is held. If anyone was offensive, it was that student.

Keep in mind, this is a yoga studio. People practice yoga for both their physical and mental wellbeing. For me, the time before the class begins is the time that I unplug from my day and focus on my own welfare. I try to be mindful that everyone else in attendance is there for the same purpose. Obviously, this belligerent woman didn’t get the memo! She was disturbing everyone else’s peace of mind. Her only concern was that she had to leave the session early. When other students have had to leave early and they are thoughtful enough to let the instructor know before they settle in and they usually take a spot near the door so they can slip away quietly without disruption. This woman had firmly planted herself in the middle of the room with all her stuff!

The no-shoes policy is based on an objective criteria – one that appeals and relates to the shared standards of all students who practice yoga in the studio. Even if the student in question carried her shoes in, let’s face it, shoes can emit odors and be offensive to other students, especially if your head is on the floor. Another shared standard of the community of yogis who practice in this studio is creating and maintaining a culture that is respectful, calming and peaceful. Other than the request to keep your cell phones off, there are no “rules” about this standard. It’s a value and an interest that all members of this community generally embrace. It’s a standard that shouldn’t need an explanation. When individuals don’t espouse the values of the greater community disruptive behavior and conflict can result.

This particular conflict was resolved by the student drawing a line in the sand and when she didn’t get her way, she left. No one asked her to do so, it was her decision. It was her choice not to accept one simple standard based on an objective criteria. It was her loss, but the rest of us enjoyed a delightful yoga practice filled with peace and harmony that evening.  

Successful Mergers—Not an Oxymoron

Mergers and acquisitions were at an all-time high in 2015.  There is some indication they will slow down in 2016 because it is an election year but probably not by much.  However, just because there are a lot of mergers does not mean they are successful. In fact, at least half of all mergers are not successful—which means, they don’t meet the long-term revenue goals set out that define success.

The first step most organizations take when considering a merger is to put a team together which typically consists of the CEO, the CFO, and maybe the Chief Marketing Officer.  So the focus is necessarily on the numbers—what is it going to cost us to make the deal?  What new markets will we get from this transaction?  How will this merger increase our revenue, our profits, and our shareholder value?

Missing from this team are experts to focus on the people issues. Savvy organizations are learning that the sooner they involve HR in the process, the greater their chances of success.  People drive the business and in any merger, it is extremely important, early in the game, to understand the strengths of each organization’s workforce and to determine who the key players are.  It is also critical to understand the organizational culture of each company and to determine if the cultures can successfully be merged.

Here are some of the ways HR can add value early in the merger process:

·       Identifying the talent in the prospective organization

·       Assessing organizational culture difference

·       Reviewing labor contracts, if applicable

·       Planning and executing layoffs, if necessary

·       Putting retention strategies in place to retain key talent

HR also brings experience in change management.  Many people fight change and people experienced in change management can head off some of the potential disasters such as a decline in performance or, even worse, the loss of the superstar talent that you wanted to take this new company forward!

Patrick Shannon, a San Francisco based partner in Mercer’s talent practice says, “Organizations need to think about the diligence around their talent decisions with the same rigor they use for their products, their operations, and their customer decisions.”  How will those decisions be made if HR isn’t represented in the process?

HR just may be the key to a successful merger so be sure to include them in every phase of the merger process.

Recruiting – We do it all the time!

Some of you may be saying, “Why read about recruiting? I don’t own a business or am not in a position to hire people.” I encourage you to widen your perspective about this topic. This need not be a topic exclusive to business. Aren’t we recruiting when we look for someone to fix our plumbing, or car or purchase insurance? And what about looking for friends, a special person in our life or wanting to find an opportunity to volunteer in the community. Isn’t that recruiting of its own kind?

Looking within and without: As you seek the right person(s), consider folks that are part of the team, now or in the past. A team member may want to move into a different role or they may know of a friend, family member or past associate. Today there are many places and resources to explore. Here are a few from The Big Book of HR: “Networking, former employees who left or were laid off, retirees, colleges, churches, passive or non-active applicants.” The phone book yellow pages, on-line or hard-copy, are always a great place to spark ideas for anything you want to find. Use your local media options as well as newsletters of organizations to which your team members belong. Think local and global.

How can we find the “right” team member? Do your homework, which includes having a clear, accurate and complete job description. I have been amazed by how many businesses have outdated, non-existing or job descriptions for only a few of their employees. Consider carefully the specific skills and experience that are required. Remember attitude and interest are important. The right person will be aligned with the things that matter like values, principles and priorities. I’ll say more about “fit” next week. As you are searching for a new hire or that special person, be open to expanding the scope of opportunities that you had not considered before.

How can we afford to do this? Instead, consider the question, “Can we afford not to find the right person that meets our needs?” You may well need to pay the full price to fill your requirements. Here are some options to consider at a lower cost: part time; short-term contracts; on-call team members; retirees; internships; apprenticeships, shared employment, flex-time.  Think out-of-the-box regarding how to fulfill the needs you have.

Mitchell and Gamlem, in the book mentioned above, give a list of areas regarding job analysis: “job purpose, work environment, duties and responsibilities, knowledge, skills and abilities required to succeed in the position, where in the organizational structure this position fits, and performance criteria.”

And in personal “recruiting” for a special individual in your life. How about making a check list of values and relationship wishes you are desiring? In my search for a life partner, I created a set of 3x5 cards listing my wants, and it worked!

Bernie Linnartz

This article first appeared in Taos News on March 24, 2016. Special thanks to Bernie Linnartz for his series on managing human resources based on The Big Book of HR.

Leading from Any Chair

I recently attended a concert performed by the Academy of St. Martin-in-the Fields with the very talented violinist Joshua Bell. As the orchestra was warming up, I noticed that there was no podium for the conductor and when Joshua came out, he sat in the chair where the first violinist usually sits in the orchestra.  From time to time, he would use his bow to conduct but mostly he was playing as a member of the orchestra.  He did stand up to play a memorable solo but for most of the time he was seated as a member of the orchestra.  It was obvious that the musicians knew what they were supposed to do and did it with amazing perfection.  Joshua Bell got them started but it was obvious that each member of the orchestra knew his or her part and the result was beautiful music!

This performance reminded me of another conductor I’d heard speak several years ago at a conference—Benjamin Zander.   He and his wife, Rosamund Stone Zander wrote a book titled, “The Art of Possibility—Transforming Professional and Personal Life.”  One chapter is titled, Leading from Any Chair, and in it, Benjamin Zander says, “I had been conducting for nearly twenty years when it suddenly dawned on me that the conductor of an orchestra does not make a sound. His picture may appear on the cover of the CD in various dramatic poses, but his true power derives from his ability to make others powerful.”

This got me to thinking about what would happen in our businesses if leaders realized that they are not the ones who, in and of themselves, make everything happen. So many leaders I encounter in my consulting practice feel as if they have to be all knowing and all powerful to their people.  They miss the benefits that come from sitting down or stepping back and letting one of their employees take the lead.

Of course, to do this takes courage and strength—it is certainly not a sign of weakness to let someone on the team take the lead on a project but it seems to me that many leaders don’t give their employees the chance to take the lead from time to time.  How do we expect our people to learn and grow if we’re always telling them what to do and how to do it?  What results could we expect to see if we adopted a “lead from any chair” philosophy?

In order to have a “conductorless ensemble,” you’ll need to have talented and empowered employees.  You’ll need to trust that when you sit down or step back that they’ll know what’s expected of them to succeed.  Benjamin Zander thinks the idea of leading from any chair is a way to practice the art of possibility and I saw this in action on the stage with Joshua Bell and the orchestra.

I challenge you to give this a try in your organization and let us know how it works for you!

Are Your Expectations Clear?

A common dilemma for many CEOs is whether their team members and the firm’s associates are giving them honest feedback or merely telling them what they want to hear. Are major problems being covered up? Are major problems being solved without making the CEO aware that there was a problem? Are major problems being brought to his attention, and if not, why not?

Masking or hiding issues from a leader can be the cause of embarrassment for her at the very least, or result in a major conflict. Yes, associates should be empowered to take on tough issues and solve them on their own, but they should also be held accountable for letting the leaders know what’s going on. The best way to avoid this dilemma – foster a culture of open communication. In organizations where the leadership is courageous, it’s not unusual to have a “speak-up” culture where everyone embrace accountability – holding themselves and each other accountable for actions or inactions that are counterproductive to the team and the organization.

Consider the CEO who is very approachable. He walks around, talks with people in all departments and asks “What can I do better?” He’s vulnerable and invites feedback. He expects that his leadership team members do the same. There are no formal 360 evaluations. Rather there is honest feedback and dialogue that is listened to and acted upon.

How does this CEO foster courageous leadership in his organization? First, and most importantly, he builds trust. One way he accomplishes this is to take the feedback he receives seriously. If it’s something that can be acted upon, he does so quickly. If a team member makes a suggestion that can’t be implemented, he’ll explain why. He never dismisses suggestions nor makes other people feel vulnerable.

He also communicates early and often. He lets people know what their roles entail, how each role supports the organization’s goals and values, what successful performance looks like including outputs and results, and how successful performance positively impacts the organization.

This CEO’s communication style is direct. When he discusses expectations, he describes exactly what needs to happen and why. “Our goal is to increase sales by 30% in the coming fiscal year with 15% coming from existing markets and an additional 15% from new markets. Sales will have to work closely with marketing to develop a plan for expansion. That plan must be in place 45 days before the fiscal year begins.” His expectations are precise and realistic. The deadline is clear and the actions are essential and manageable. People know where they stand and what they have to do.

When expectations are clear, the likelihood of conflict arising diminishes. Rather than waste time and energy being confused and frustrated, employees have a clear path to follow. They know that they can and are expected to bring unforeseen issues to anyone in management as early as possible so adjustments can be made. Embedded in the organization’s values are trust and respect for all. They achieve this by expecting active employee participation in issues, mutual problem solving and goal setting, and transparency. People are not afraid to engage in dialogue, question goals, tasks or expectations, nor ask for clarification.

Our CEO’s open attitude fosters an environment of continued improvement for the employees and for the organization. An open culture that encourages feedback and accountability will engage, motivate and retain good talent – a goal every organization should strive to achieve.

This article originally appeared in the CEO Magazine on October 22, 2015