The Flaming Cavalier

 

It happened last week on my drive from Portland to Spokane, WA.   I was cruising at a crisp 78mph along I-84 thinking about the cool work ahead when I was passed by a teal colored Chevy Cavalier.  Hmmmm…. Upon further inspection I noted that the teal mini-beast was sporting a very unique rear window motif.  Across the bottom of the window, a line of brazen flames adorned the glass.  Centered at the top of the window was a white outline of a little butterfly.  Huge flames and a butterfly.  Hmmmmm…

Then it donned on me: I know the driver.  You do, too.  It’s the boss who torches all that lives on their team with their horrific, biting threats and ego-hot pokes all under the guise of “leading the team to perform”.   Just like a blast from a blow torch, the exchange is one-way, oppressive and destructive.  Incredible talent is scorched by these hot heads daily and often it takes a long time for that talent to grow back.  Oh, and the butterfly?  That is the pin hole of light that shows up when this person sitting in a leadership seat (note: I can’t call them a leader now, can I?) says some ridiculous fib like “we value or people” in some fleeting, politically motivated moment.  Huge flames and a butterfly.  Hmmmmm…

This whole month I have been working with dozens of talented leaders to hone leadership skills that engage the team and their untapped talents.  It’s about conversations, relationships, respect and recognition.  Simple recognition.  So many good things are happening every day in our work environments yet in our stress and haste we often only find time to flame and poke at the mistakes.  Simple recognition.  Get some.

It takes less than 30 seconds to recognize a job well done.  What is the power in those 30 seconds?  In the new book, Closing the Engagement Gap, the authors offer, amongst other gems:  “when workers see their managers really get what they‘re doing to help the company and colleagues succeed and take the time to acknowledge it, employee engagement can soar.  This approach can also help build teams of high performers.”   Only a fool would turn down that return on a 30 second investment.

Yes, we learned how to turn the heat up by engaging team members instead of flaming them this month.  The application of our learning is paying off… with big business results.  The teams are more engaged, the customers are, in turn, more engaged, and the cash registers are ringing in record numbers.  Check that, Mr. Flaming Cavalier.  Your torch-toting days are numbered.

Walk away from the computer now and go recognize a great behavior/ result you want repeated.  Watch what happens to your team…and your scoreboard! 

Help us all get better.  Share your recognition story here.

The 80/20 rule: application #256

 

It is right up there with the trusty Leatherman… the nifty thing you can count on: the 80/20 Rule.  While I am not a fan of “Rules”, this one works well often.  For example, for the past month or so I have been testing my own application of the 80/20 Rule in the field while working side by side with dozens of leaders.  My observations can be summed like this: 80 % of the “coaching” we offer our team members delivers 20% of the results.  Scanning my past 30 (gulp!) years of leadership experience, I found this “Rule” to hold true.  Hmmmmmm.

Reflect for a minute.  When does most of the “coaching” occur in your organization: “pre-game”, “during-game” or “post-game”?  Survey says: post-game.  I offer that the majority of “coaching” in our organizations is done AFTER the event, project, month, etc.  (annual reviews, anyone?)  So, if 80% of our coaching time is delivering 20% of the result, what is possible when we take on the “pre” and “during” coaching with intention?  Goldmine!  The nuggets in sum:

Pre and during

• Clarifies expectations and success metrics
• Defines milestones
• Celebrates small wins
• Navigates obstacles
• Helps team stay focused on the summit
• Results are created

Post

•  Offers recognition
• Identifies behaviors to replicate
• Highlights lessons learned
• Results are in

Don’t get me wrong.  “Post-game” reviews have benefit.  For bolder results, ask yourself this: what if 80% of the possible results your team may achieve is in your “pre” and “during” coaching hands?  I offer that it is.

Look, tens of thousands of hours of coaching take place well before that last minute play of the game.  The magic play drawn on the clip board with 1.6 seconds remaining cannot compare to the countless coaching moments it took everyone to get to that last important play.  I think we have some choices to make.  We can make commentary on the post-game scoreboard (a.k.a. ESPN at 3 a.m.) or we can bring our talent forward and radically improve the readiness and the execution capability of our team… coaching right there, in the mix, beginning well before the tip off.

20% of you will take action here… and that will likely deliver 80% of what’s possible.  I know where I am putting my money.  How about you?

Your Presence is Requested

 

I am here.  Are you?  Huh?  When was the last time you were across from a person you thought you were engaged in some sort of meaningful exchange with only to discover that the other person was not “there”?  Physically present: check.  Mentally present: checked out.  Think U.S. Postal Service.  Think DMV.  (Sorry, folks… I will quote Ram Charan here: “truth over harmony”).   Heck, it even happened to me this week during a visit to my usually-amazingly-engaged bank!  You know the scene: while you are thinking about your money and the product, service, and experience you expect to receive in exchange for said money, the person “serving” you is thinking “geez, its bad enough I have to actually be here… you expect me to be engaged, too?”  Aaarrgh!

We have slipped.  We are distracted.  We are not showing up.  In the retail world, the team that engages the customer best wins.  We have to, as Susan Scott states in her book, Fierce Conversations, “be there and be nowhere else” for our customers AND our team.   So often our hearts and our souls are absent… we are checked out.  This vacant presence of leaders, sales associates, and cashier team members is nothing short of certain death.  Sadly, certain death is quite prevalent.  Big box home improvement giants know it.  Electronics stores know it.  Banks know it.  So what?  What do we do about it?

Get out of the fog and into the NOW, leaders.  Engagement begins with you.  Period.  Be fully in the game, get in your zone, help the whole team win through your focused action.  Example: we got REAL about engagement this week in a busy retail store.  What was happening?  Leaders were present on the floor physically and mentally.  Their awareness of the customer experience was at a 10.  Leaders were applying quick, laser-focused coaching to keep the whole team highly engaged.  Result: customers went out of the way to smile, make eye contact, and tell us about their experience.  A couple of their stories literally gave me chills.  Chills!  Oh, and we had a killer sales day to boot!

Lest you dismiss the opportunity before you because “I don’t work in retail”, consider this: what is possible when you are “there” for your colleague, shift leader, or potential client?  High levels of engagement work incredibly well in spontaneous cubicle meetings, on the manufacturing floor, and even on the phone.

So, would you rather sweat to a certain death or experience the chills of high engagement?  So what?  What are you going to do about it?