Confessions and Accountability

Friday, April 03, 2009

Now some thoughts and ideas for Owners, CEO's and Managers regarding my recent revelations about confessions. You may want to review our recent blogs on this topic (Part 1, Part 2).

It may do you some good to confess your shortcomings as well. What should you confess? Perhaps your lack of setting up systems that hold people accountable? As we've learned, accountability leads to success. Remember our blogs referencing "The Office?" (Part 1, Part 2).

Or, you might confess your neglect of coming up with a goal that is a bit impossible. Remember, people don't just want a job:

"They want a goal that’s just a little bit impossible (vision). They want a leader who can paint the picture of how to get there (direction). They want a leader who will be honest enough to tell them they are off track (feedback). And they want a leader who, when the goal is achieved, remembers to say, ‘Unbelievable – What you just did was impossible.'… '" (Essence of Success blog)

Consider bringing your team together and confessing that you have let things slip, even if it is just all too slightly. Admit that you've become bogged down with the things that really don't matter. Then paint a big picture, one that is exciting, one that inspires people and holds them accountable. I bet they will be moved by your honesty and inspired to achieve more as a result.

Confessions From Your Blogging Corporate Shrink – Part 2

Thursday, April 02, 2009

I hope you're all on the edge of your seat waiting for my newfound inspiration. As readers of yesterday's blog know, I confessed to being in a three week slide (probably longer) with regard to my work responsibilities. I have been chasing fires rather than chasing new opportunities. I reported that my goal was to wake up a renewed, proactive person today, once again contributing value to our company and our clients.

I was fully prepared to admit that the doldrums are far too ominous a force to be tackled by simply confessing to be in them. But something did happen. I did wake up with a renewed sense of purpose. I did make significantly more calls and came up with more creative solutions than I have been lately. I did feel better about the economy, our company's prospects, and about myself.

Interesting….Hmmm….. What really happened, and why?

I confessed! This was completely unexpected. By simply making a public confession that I have nobody to blame but myself; by cutting myself off from any exit leading away from personal responsibility, I've been liberated. I've been liberated to do things that I hadn't thought of previously.

The lesson is self-evident. It correlates with everything we've written about in WorkPuzzle, and everything that science has revealed: The more personal responsibility you take to solve a given problem, the more you believe that you can make a difference, and the more you will!

However, the impact of confession isn't described or studied much in science. Perhaps it should be. It seems confession may be the quickest way to turn things around when you're in a slump.

So, here is what I want you to do: If you are caught in the doldrums and adding very little value to those who you are responsible to, do this: Confess to someone where you've failed and what your plan of change is. This alone can be your impetus to change.

And once you've done this — Use Metrics (1, 2, 3) to keep track of everything you do. Without measuring, you can't critique your own improvements.

Confessions From Your Blogging Corporate Shrink

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

I know, I know….I’ve been writing so much about Resilience, Survival, Confidence, etc., that you must all believe that I’m immune from the traps of the doldrums. Not a chance!

Over the past few weeks I have been coming up with excuse after excuse regarding why I haven’t fulfilled my responsibilities here at Tidemark. It's not that I haven’t done what’s required. I have. But, I haven’t done what’s not expected. I haven’t done the things that will help take us to another level.

Why? Because I’ve been reactive and not proactive. Proactive people take responsible actions that provide others hope. Reactive people are busy putting out so many fires that they have a multitude of excuses for why they aren’t meeting expectations.

It's really easy and tempting to be reactive in our current economic environment. But according to all that I've been writing….This is the time when true character is tested and refined.

Today I am going to be proactive. Tomorrow I’ll let you know what happens.

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Provoking People to Be Successful – Part 2

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Yesterday we discussed how salespeople are taking on some characteristics and duties of coaches. For example, it is a coach’s job to provoke people to be successful, however it is increasingly becoming the salesperson’s job as well.

When trying to learn and deploy techniques that will elicit success, most salespeople struggle to find a critical issue that would capture the interest of a senior executive. Moore puts it this way:

“For any given prospect or customer, your sales and marketing team can generate a long list of industry wide and company specific problems that could be better addressed. The key is to find the one that matters so deeply that even in a downturn the money will be found to fix it.”

As you know, there is no shortage of problems out there. I think that any of us could quickly develop a list of things in our own lives and businesses that could use some improvement. The challenge is to prioritize these problems, and focus energies on specific ways to solve them.

Moore admits that even salespeople have a difficult time attaching a direct monetary value to a problem. Of course, this is an appropriate framework for a corporate sale, but is it appropriate for coaching? In most cases, it is.

Here is a framework that will help you identify issues that are relevant: As you consider problems, ask yourself this question: Is there a direct and measurable payoff (preferably monetary) for solving the problem? If there is not a payoff, then it’s time to place priority on a different issue.

This is not something many coaches and managers do very well. It even becomes more of a challenge for a coach or manager who has the responsibility of coaching a large number of people. It is easy to get into a rut and try to apply a one-size-fits-all formula.

Here are a couple of ideas that may help you be successful at this task:

1. Think like a businessperson. As you attempt to put yourself in a person's shoes, ask tough business questions. What issue can put this person out of business? What seriously jeopardizes this person’s ability to compete? What tasks are this person’s competitors and better performing peers achieving that this person is ignoring? If you’re not a credible source of advice on an important topic, is there someone you can elicit help from who is?

2. Keep track of the information. Not everyone you’re coaching has the same issues. Since your approach must be customized, it is important to have a way to record and reference the information you’ve collected and the advice that you’ve offered.

During tough times, we’re all careful about what we buy. Our coaching must address pertinent business issues people must solve in order to survive. If we’re not proficient at this task, we may be one of the expenses that gets cut.

Provoking People to be Successful

Monday, March 30, 2009

If you coach and manage people for a living, then you already know that insight can come from the most unlikely places. Is it possible that your salespeople might have something to teach you?

Salespeople are under a lot of pressure right now. When the economy is good and things are humming along, they seem to have it easy. But, when the economy tightens up, it’s a different story. They’re often the first ones to feel the impact of a downturn.

Under such circumstances, most salespeople complain and make excuses about how external circumstances keep them from meeting their goals. Many of these people fail because they get stuck in this paradigm. However, there are always a few who figure out how to overcome these circumstances and succeed in spite of the external challenges.

Harvard Business Review published an article last month on how to think, act, and practice business like one of these salespeople. The article is titled, "In a Downturn, Provoke Your Customers". It is written by Geoffrey Moore, along with two co-authors.

The basic premise of the article is that in order to be successful, a salesperson must be able to identify problems, risks, and opportunities that the customer cannot see on their own. Here is how Moore quantifies the issue:

“Provocation-based selling goes beyond the conventional consultative or solution-selling approach, whereby the vendor’s sales team seeks out current concerns in a question-and–answer dialogue with customer managers…. Provocation-based selling helps customers see their competitive challenges in a new light that makes addressing specific painful problems unmistakably urgent.”

In essence, the salesperson is doing the strategic thinking for the customer with regard to a small part of their overall business. How could an outsider have an impact like this?

“[Outsiders] aren’t caught up in the dynamics that often make it hard for a client’s own managers to challenge the status quo. This hesitancy to make waves becomes stronger in time of general economic turmoil. When people in your client’s organization are too worried about their jobs to present anything original or thought-provoking, it is easier to come across as a much-needed breath of fresh air.”

Doesn’t this sound like the job description of a coach?

Getting a third-party perspective from outside the normal frame of reference helps people perform better, overcome obstacles, and find solutions that are not obvious on the surface.

Tomorrow, I’ll share additional insight that Moore uncovers in this article. I think you'll find the information helpful with regard to both sales and coaching.

I Thrive Under a Lack of Accountability – Part 2

Friday, March 27, 2009

You may want to catch up by reading yesterday's post as it provides important background information on this topic.

Much of what I said yesterday is known to most of us intuitively. In fact, the letter I published a few weeks ago in Workpuzzle said it well:

"2) Everyone Deserves The Truth – Even if the truth is that someone is not a good fit for their job, everyone deserves to be told the truth. The truth avoids misperceptions, misunderstandings and a host of problems. To be successful, you simply have to tell the truth – everyday to everybody. The truth is the ticket to the dance.

3) People Need A Goal Bigger Than Themselves – Effective people don’t want a job, they want a goal that’s just a little bit impossible (vision). They want a leader who can paint the picture of how to get there (direction). They want a leader who will be honest enough to tell them they are off track (feedback). And they want a leader who, when the goal is achieved, remembers to say, ‘Unbelievable – What you just did was impossible. No one will ever be able to take that experience away from you’ (recognition).

4) Don’t Be Confused by Reality – In reality there is never enough time, money or manpower. The competition is always stronger and the customers are always too reluctant. Anyone can understand reality… Companies need people who will willingly sign-up to produce impossible results without sufficient resources…"

With our current economic state as it is, the above advice will need to be heeded by companies undergoing increased tightening if they hope to rise to the top of the next economic wave.

Why do we resist thinking this way? Why do we resist demanding the retention of only A and B level employees? We resist it because we have unwarranted and inappropriate pity for people who are obviously not a good fit for their job. This isn't fair to the organization, the customers and more than anyone, it isn't fair to the individual in question.

I belong to a high-end health club that employs a young man who might actually be able to qualify for Social Security Disability due to mental challenges. Instead, he is by far, the most outstanding locker room attendant in the club. I know for a fact that this club places a high value on customer service and measures several related behaviors, such as remembering members' names and greeting them accordingly. This young man does it, and does it well! Without fail, he says "Hi Dave…What's up Dave?" every time I set foot in the locker room.

By demanding measurable accountability, we attribute value to a person's capacity to achieve and contribute. It is, however, crucial to then acknowledge effort applied by employees toward set goals.

Be patient with yourself and your employees. "It takes time to succeed because success is merely the natural reward of taking time to do anything well." (Joseph Ross)