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5 Ways for a Leader to Practice Thanksgiving

November 25, 2015November 25, 2015 Shannon Cassidy Leave a comment

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” G.K. Chesterton

It’s almost Turkey Day. Folks are gearing up to eat deviled eggs, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie before they watch the game and take a nap. But Thanksgiving is not all about the three f’s – family, food and football.

It is about giving thanks.

As leaders of your team, this is a wonderful time of year to begin the habit of practicing thanksgiving so you can do it all year, not just in November. Saying those two powerful words can mean the world to someone who has worked hard. Not saying the same two words, especially when it requires little effort, can diminish one of your team member’s worth and that will lead to them not giving as much effort on the next project.

Saying “thank you” is a win-win. Your appreciation will boost the effort of your team and their response to being appreciated will boost their productivity. It’s a win-win.

So follow these five suggestions to make the phrase “THANK YOU” a part of the culture of your team.

Be prompt. Don’t wait too long after you’ve noticed a job well done to say “thank you.” Put a note on your desk or calendar reminding yourself to look for moments to say “thank you”. If you wait too long, gratitude loses its power.
Be specific. Say exactly what you are thankful for. Although “thank you” is polite and powerful, its potency is increased ten-fold if you follow it with a specific reason.“Thank you for working extra hours yesterday.” Practice adding specifics to your gratitude and your team members will notice. “Thank you for making sure our coffee orders were correct.” “Thank you for going the extra mile with this report.”
Be discerning. Learn what your team members appreciate as rewards and add it to your “thank you”. Handwritten notes or gift cards are loved by some people. Take your team or team member to lunch and then give them the rest of the day off. Get to know what your team members would consider a great reward. Not everyone would consider a handwritten note a bonus, while others would consider it a lovely touch. If you email a team member thank you, copy the message to your boss (and theirs, if you aren’t their boss). Free days off coupons, telecommuting days, or flexible scheduling are great rewards for the person that appreciates those types of rewards. Match the reward to the person.
Be sincere. Don’t rush it. Intentionality comes across as genuine and heartfelt. So make your “thank you” deliberate. Don’t walk by someone and say “By the way, thanks!” Stop at their desk or cubicle, look them in the eyes and say it with honest appreciation. Those two words will go a long way with sincerity behind them.
Be consistent. If you praise often during one month but then skip the next month, your team might wonder what’s going on. Practice thanksgiving by making it a habit. Give yourself a goal and put the goal on your desk or calendar or phone and stick with it. By doing this you will be creating a culture of thanksgiving that includes recognition and reward.

Instead of stuffing yourself with turkey, how about stuffing yourself with gratitude?

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Instead of stuffing yourself with turkey, potatoes and gravy, how about stuffing yourself with gratitude? Don’t be a leader who hoards appreciation. Spread it around your team and make it a habit that they will see and begin imitating. Let the Thanksgiving of 2015 be the beginning of practicing thanksgiving all year around.

Sources:

www.teamworkandleadership.com/2014/11/two-of-the-most-powerful-words-leaders-can-say-and-why-you-should.html#sthash.ozVAEqrX.94ZD4Hsd.dpuf

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_54.htm

Small Changes, Big Results

November 12, 2015November 12, 2015 Shannon Cassidy 1 Comment

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” – Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa knew that change very rarely happens in big swooping gestures, but in smaller movements, often personal decisions. As a leader, you have the chance to make changes that could produce big results. But to be highly effective, those changes need to small and intentional.

Here are five small changes you can make that can lead to big results.

Learn Something Every Day. The more you know, they healthier you tend to be. Reading articles online will grow your knowledge over time. Warren Buffet, one of the richest people in the world, is said to read over 500 pages a day just to learn. If you aren’t a reader, listen to books on tape or podcasts. This small change can add up to big results in your brain power and can also reverse any downward spirals in your thinking abilities.
Do Something New. Sometimes work can feel like a rut or a grind and you might crave a change. Instead of making a big change like a new job, make a small change. Switch up your schedule. If you eat every day at the same time, try eating 30 minutes sooner or later. Try a new perfume or cologne. Fresh smells can create innovative sensory experiences which can make your day or week feel brand new.
Bring Playfulness Into Your Day. Remember when you were 9 years old? What did you like to do? Try doing it again. Find a park and whizz down a slide or swing for a while. Maybe throw a football around or bake a cake from a recipe your mom always used. This kind of small change can slow down your life for a bit and hit reset. After recharging, your child-like energy will help you tackle your work in a new way.
Change Your Speed-Dial List. If you have a top ten list on your phone that are made up of business-related people, maybe it’s time to reevaluate that list. Business situations change, so it is important to reevaluate your business priorities. Every time you look at what is important in your life, even if you only make small changes, you naturally reset your vision for your work or life, which usually results in positive growth.
Change Your Surroundings. Your office often reflects who you are and where you have been. It might even reflect where you are going. If you want to grow, it is important to change your office. Life is full of adjustments and compromises and your office can be a vital reminder to you to move toward your goals.

The opportunities of a new path are open to you, but you must move forward in focus. Making these small changes can increase your focus and productivity. Like Mother Teresa, if you cast those stones across the water making small changes in your life, the results will creative positive ripples throughout your life.

Sources:

http://www.smallstepsbigchanges.com/43-alltime-quotes-change/#ixzz3r8A48vwK

http://breakingmuscle.com/health-medicine/make-one-small-change-to-make-a-big-difference-to-your-health

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/70936

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jen-glantz/small-ways-to-make-big-ch_b_5675549.html

5 Time Management Secrets to Teach Your Employees

October 8, 2015October 8, 2015 Shannon Cassidy Leave a comment

Time. We all wish we had more of it. Yet no matter how hard we try to conserve it, it seems to slip away from us in drips and drabs.

This is especially concerning if you’re in charge of a team of people responsible for ensuring your business runs smoothly and efficiently. If you can help every team member become more effective, think how much time you’ll save overall! Here are five time management secrets to teach today.

Shorten Those To-Do Lists

One of the biggest time sucks is the endless to-do list. Filled with small and often nonessential items, to-do lists are only useful if they serve the purpose of helping people be more productive. Teach team members easy way to shorten to-do lists, like getting rid of all items they’ll do no matter what. Think “check email” or “get lunch.” Scratch easy tasks that don’t need to happen right away; they often become tempting due to their simplicity, and end up taking precedence over harder but more crucial chores.

Belle Cooper recommends moving tasks that depend on other people somewhere else (to a follow-up list, for instance, or a shared project) so that you don’t have to feel the nagging pressure of tasks you can’t complete on your own. Teach your employees how to distinguish between tasks they can and should do right away, and those that should be filed somewhere else or ditched altogether.

Take Time to Be Creative

Creativity is crucial. It makes people feel happier, more productive and more in charge of their own work lives. It’s an amazing way to give your workers a little freedom, boosting their brainpower and making them more efficient when they return to regular tasks. Of course, creativity must still fall within the scope of the job, but giving workers time to explore, read, create or invent can immeasurably improve attitude, moral and time effectiveness.

Create a System for Email

Ah, email. To reduce mental space and inbox space wasted by email, teach employees to deal with it right away. “Inbox Zero” should always be the goal, so read, reply or file instantly to reduce inbox clutter and improve efficiency.

Handle a Task Once, and Once Only

The “One-Touch Rule” can significantly limit the amount of time employees spend waffling between tasks and feeling mentally burdened by chores that seem to haunt them forever. We all know that feeling of picking up and putting a task down so many times that it becomes a huge monkey on our backs.

Instead, teach employees to process each task as soon as it reaches them. If it’s an email: read, reply or file. If it’s a piece of paperwork, they should complete it, photocopy it or file it away. Whatever the task, when it comes across an employee’s desk, they should know how to handle it immediately.

Note that some tasks can’t be done at that moment, in which case processing it means filing it in the right place for later, then putting a date on the calendar for when it will be dealt with and how. Some tasks are also large, in which case processing can mean breaking the task into steps and waiting until there’s enough time to complete them. Whatever the case, ignoring the task is the No. 1 time-wasting no-no, so offer better alternatives.

Have an End-Of-Day Routine

At the end of the day, teach each employee to create a short to-do list for the next, containing only the highest priority tasks, and unclutter their work space so it will be fresh and ready for the following day.

Time management doesn’t need to feel impossible when you institute these tips in every worker’s daily routine!

Being Human: How to Lead People

September 24, 2015September 24, 2015 Shannon Cassidy Leave a comment

Your organization has sent you to leadership training and nurtured you through their fast track program. You know the disciplinary policy like the back of your hand and the you could recite state labor laws in your sleep. While these things are important to know and understand, the true foundation of effective leadership lies in inherent human qualities. In simple, great leadership boils down to being human.

Be Honest

Good leaders are honest with their employees, clients, and managers. They own their mistakes and oversights and actively work toward a solution. They don’t say anything behind an employee’s back that they haven’t said to the employee’s face. Their subordinates respect their honesty and trust their words. Sugar coating performance deficits causes confusion for the employee and fails to promote success. Be honest.

Be Friendly

Employees who connect with their leaders are more likely to respect and follow their leaders and feel satisfied in their role. Take time to learn about your employees’ families and hobbies; they make wonderful friendly talking points. A simple, “Good morning, Shirley! How did Bob’s appointment go yesterday?” goes a long way. Always take a moment to establish eye contact and make a connection.

Be Real

Show your employees that you are a real person not so different from themselves. Laugh at work often and smile whenever you can. Let your employees into your life a little by sharing information about your family and hobbies. Leaders who are real with their employees are more approachable, and therefore receive more valuable feedback and suggestions.

Be Supportive

Good leaders are those who are supportive of their employee’s ambitions and goals. Support each employee in their role, assist individuals in understanding the value of their contributions to the organization, and encourage every employee to pursue in-house positions that interest them. Take time to discuss an employee’s career planning so you can work to keep the best in the organization. Identify leaders early and share your plans for their advancement in the organization.

Be Empathetic

Experience in the leadership industry can harden even the most compassionate of hearts. However, a leader should go to great lengths to see every employee as a human being, take every concern seriously, and genuinely empathize with the employee expressing his or her dissatisfaction. Furthermore, the effective leader shows empathy with the grieving employee and encourages as much family time as possible.

Be Rewarding

Statistics show that employee satisfaction increases more when non-monetary rather than monetary rewards are issued. Commit to complimenting a minimum of three employees daily on their performance. Telling the janitorial staff, “It sure looks great in here! Thanks for the hard work!” or your administrative assistant, “Thanks for keeping such an organized schedule!” takes mere moments but their effects are lasting.

Be Open Minded

Be willing to consider the viewpoints of others and entertain new ideas or suggestions. Good leaders understand the value in new and differing opinions. Furthermore, employees respect and value a leader who is open to their thoughts and opinions and who considers them seriously.

Be Inspiring

An effective leader shows employees what he or she expects of them by displaying the same commitment and drive every day. A leader’s boots should be the first to hit the ground and the last to leave. Policy should be followed fervently and eagerly. Strides should be taken every day in the direction of success and advancement of the organization.

In conclusion, a good leader requires some textbook knowledge but an abundance of quality characteristics. A good leadership mantra is, “Always do the right thing.”

The Importance of an Open Door Policy

September 17, 2015September 17, 2015 Shannon Cassidy 2 Comments

In facilities with an open door policy in place, managers keep their office doors open to welcome feedback, encourage in-house resolution of problems, better observe and manage their departments, and remain accessible to their staff. While an open door policy has the potential to do all of these things, employees who work in facilities with such a policy don’t, in actuality, communicate more openly with their managers. As a matter of fact, 44% of these employees indicate that they don’t feel free to speak openly and honestly with their managers and 20% said they fear repercussions.

There is more to an effective open door policy than meets the eye; keeping the doors to manager offices open should be only one component of a multi-faceted policy. When the policy is written appropriately and followed, open door policies are vital for preventing disengagement and even potential litigation as a result of unresolved issues at work.

The following components can transform an open door policy from ineffective to necessary for survival:

Open Doors

The first and most literal element is an open door. Of course, doors will be closed during private meetings, disciplines, and crunch time before a deadline, but for the most part, office doors should be open to indicate interest in others and openness to their feedback. An open door is welcoming and has the potential to open the lines of communication, increase respect for management, and provide transparency that may improve trust.

No Repercussion

A primary reason employees working in open door facilities don’t communicate more with their supervisors is fear of repercussion or retaliation. An effective open door policy can address this fear by clearly communicating protection for a reporter. A few ways to say this include:

“Questions, comments, and concerns brought forth as a result of the open door policy will not be used as a means of discipline for the reporter. Managers within the organization have made a commitment to take such questions, concerns, and comments seriously and protect employees from the repercussions that may accompany reporting them. “

“There will be no retaliation by management against employees who report violations or concerns, and coworkers who retaliate against a reporter will be disciplined or terminated. Retaliation will not be supported or tolerated.”

“To extent legally permissible, reporters will remain anonymous.”

The best way to illustrate commitment to repercussion-free reporting of incidents, violations, and problems at work is to follow through with organizational open door policy consistently. When an employee reports a concern and receives adequate feedback with no change in treatment from management or coworkers, they’re more likely to report their concerns next time.

Follow Up

An open door policy loses its power when managers fail to follow up to concerns in a timely manner. A well-defined schedule for follow up after a complaint has been filed includes three primary elements:

Notification to the employee in writing that a complaint or request has been received and is being investigated or discussed within 24 hours of receipt of complaint. In this letter, employees should be given an estimated date of resolution.
A face to face meeting with the employee within seven days of receipt of complaint to gain understanding, clarify points, and learn about their expectations in terms of outcome.
A final written response to the employee, detailing what was found (if permissible and appropriate to share), indicating resolution of the issue, thanking the employee for their efforts to improve the workplace, and encouraging them to share future concerns.

An open door policy can work when all elements are in place and managers are committed to the policy.