Look at yourself: If you want change you have to be the first one to step up and make the change that you want. How many times have you watched the leader say, “we need to change and here is where I think we need to go”? This is the one area that we can learn from those that have failed in the past. I really feel that the change starts at the top. I used to tell my team, “hold me totally accountable. If I am failing, tell me!” Step up and lead.

It is a two way street: Make sure that you are making it more than just a powerpoint presentation. Have open and honest communications with your team. I know we all have seen the nice slides and gotten some charge out of them, but when you want to go deeper, there was nothing deeper. Make sure you have open lines of communications.

Make that change – obtainable: It is easy to look at something that is so far out there. We all like to have visions of grandeur, but please be realistic. Make sure that everything that you want is something that CAN happen…

Get the troops involved: If you really want change, you better figure out how to include your team. Setting expectations is something we all have to do. There is no question about that. It is important how you include your team in that process. The most successful changes that I have witnessed have one thing in common, everyone was standing together around the vision. Start small and encourage them. The rest will follow, especially if you have done the first 3…

Don’t rush the troops: It is always easy to push for results. Be patient, please. Take your time and encourage your folks. Failure is always just around the corner, especially if you rush everyone. Stand firm, but remember that patient is a virtue.

I bet there is always more that one can do to make sure that the change that they want, will happen. From my experience, these are the things that I need to have to look at. Do you have anything to add?

Photo… Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

As many know, I have been looking for a “second” career. I heard someone use the term that I was semi-retired. I guess that is true. I really am not ready for “real” retirement. I have way too much to give and learn. Not finished by no means. So, I was thinking about what I would be looking for in that next organization or company. Here are my top three things I hope to encounter on my search.

Organizational Culture: Is it defined? Can I get a sense of what the culture is from looking at the organizations website, social media presence or networking with employee’s both present and past? I really want to understand the culture of the organization. It is extremely important to me that I find something that matches up to my skills and passions when I looking for that second career. When I am being interviewed, I also sit and learn from the interviewer. Get a sense of the teams culture within the larger organizations culture. Is it the same? Gives you some questions later on.

Reviewing the hiring process: There is much to be learned from experiencing the hiring process from the beginning. How difficult was it for you to get into the job req system and apply. Nothing worse than getting in and almost submitting to have the system just fail at the end. I know many companies use an automated system for this work. The question that comes to my mind is, “did they pick one that is user friendly, or just not?” Many larger companies may outsource their recruiting process and only pass on the reqs that they feel fit. This sometimes will frustrate job applicants because everything seems to go into cyberspace. When I get passed all that, I usually am observing how everything goes. Is it smooth? Organized? All of the process is the organizations audition for you. Bad experience there, may kick off a bad experience later on.

Respected Leadership: In this day and age, we get information from many different sources. Finding out about the organizations leadership and how they train their future leaders is pretty simple to find. Do some simple searches. What I am looking for is an organization that has some respected leaders in their industry. Look at the vision of the organization, the people that work there and training for those leaders.

Finding information is easy – you just have to look. Using that information and what you know about yourself – well, that is where you can put yourself in the best situation. When I am sitting down doing my due diligence, I am looking at those three factors. It starts with organization research on culture (fit me, go to apply). Apply and the hiring process should allow you the opportunity to audition the organization. Basically answering #2 and #3. Hopefully all works out…

What I used to focus on that last week of the year!

• Employee performance appraisals. If your company uses a review system, this is the week to really sit down and focus on the overall performance of your employees. Quiet time in the office – is a wonderful time to sit and think, jot down some notes on each employee (accomplishments, strengths and areas to work on).
• Next years plan in more detail. I used to have to submit my yearly plan around Oct of the year before. Usually by the end of the year, you would receive your budget and such. Use this week to really lay out the upcoming years plans, expectations and goals in a rev. 0 fashion. Once everyone is back, go over the rev 0 plan and firm it up with your teams inputs.
• Reflect back on the past year. Write done the accomplishments and successes that your team and you have done. Share it with the team with a nice thank-you note (it should be in their inbox when they come in).  I would send off this to my manager, to share what the team has done. Most managers, would copy all and add their thanks to the team as well!

What would you do with this week?

I truly enjoyed going into the office! The stuff that I got done was important to me and my team.

• Value your people – in all that you communicate and do for them. If you do this, your staff will “see” it. They will appreciate your words and actions…
• Share your vision – with your team. No one likes to be left out in the dark. If you have plans, share and ask them their opinion. Keep that vision where they can find it!
• Share goals – I know I have written a lot about expectations and goals. To me that is key to helping each of my staff to understand what and why.. They make sure the how to is theirs. They get it done…
• Trust your people – again another topic that I feel is very important. Trust is a two way street – insure that you trust your staff. Earn their trust by setting strong expectations, do what you say you will do and remove roadblocks.
• Insure all information is available – this one is making sure that the “why” is communicated freely with the what. Issue that your staff has access to everything they need to help them get their job done.
• Delegate to your staff – for me, this one is making sure that the people getting the work done have the power to make decisions (when appropriate), get help when necessary and give them opportunities to shine. It is so easy for most managers to delegate the crap work… Don’t do that, your staff reads right through that stuff.
• Provide feedback often – nothing says you value them than providing positive or constructive feedback. Do it timely.  Do it in the right setting..
• Listen to your staff – it is all to easy for managers to do all the talking. You staff is “doing” the work, they do know what is truly happening. Listen… Problems may come up and if you listen – you maybe able to help solve the problem with them. Don’t listen – you will miss what is really happening.
• Reward your staff – recognize good work and let the staff know. They will feel that you do value them.. That their work means something and they will continue to do some amazing stuff.

Those are the keys that I strive for with my staff. Many have communicated over the years, that they had some of their best times working with me and in my teams. I truly enjoyed that feedback.. I believe it is because I empowered them to do their best work.

There is a way to correct this… It takes leaders at the top of the organizations to do some work. Having a way to measure their managers on employee engagement (I mean their ability to connect) and hold each other accountable. Many companies may survey the managers people within a set of “management” questions. That could work, if the questions were designed to measure connectedness of the manager. For me, there is no substitution to getting out and listening to the managers people. Truly listening with deep understanding.. When it has become apparent that the leader is failing to meet the standard, help them with coaching, mentoring and development. The problem that I see almost all the time is improvement plans start but never finish. Identifying the problem is only part of the solution. All to often change rarely happens. That is where accountability has to come in. If then, they prove to be unable to connect with the people they manager, they should NOT be in leadership roles.

For individuals and organizations to be successful, everyone must be firm on balancing their time that is spent on managing task and connecting with the people (each other). If too much time spent on either side is unhealthy and frankly leads to poor performance. I have seen this work.. A leader investing time connecting with people, the people give their best efforts, focus on what is needed and help each other. The team will be more open to sharing their knowledge and opinions. The team will start to fuel more ideas, innovate and make breakthroughs. A much better place to be (as a leader and member of the organization).