Posted: February 1, 2019 | Categories: Leadership, Team Building

About a year ago a client introduced me the book, “The Ideal Team Player” Patrick Lencioni.  Jim is a business owner and he liked the way the author broke down the “Ideal Team Player” into three key characteristics and qualities:  Humility, Hunger, People Smarts.

At first I thought this was gimmicky and an over-simplification.  I decided to take the scientific approach and prove the theory wrong.  I did not succeed.  What I discovered was that to build a top-performing team it is critical to look for and evaluate candidates according to these three pillars.

Humility:  When we possess and practice humility, we admit our mistakes and welcome input from others.  We subordinate our ego in favor of building others and also teamwork.

Hunger:  Without strong desire, we can be shy on initiative.  If we want something badly enough we go through much discomfort and challenge to achieve it.

People smarts:  Tactfulness removes barriers and opens dialogue.  It is essential in building team trust and setting the table for strong collaboration and teamwork.

With the past month, I worked with someone who was interviewing candidates to fill a position.  He wanted to know the best qualities to look for in his conversations.  I shared these three qualities with him.  After the first interview, h determined that the person was highly skilled, hard-working, and articulate.  He was only missing one quality…Humility.  It was a no go.  Here is how it works based on my coaching experience:

If a person needs more hunger, you can find out what motivates them, and create that hunger.  If they lack people smarts, tact and human relations skills can be learned.  I have helped people with that all my career.  How about humility?  That is a tough one.  Without humility, there is no team synergy or collaboration.  Be careful.

Posted: January 28, 2019 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Team Building

Last month I read a headline that made me sad and joyous at the same time.  The headline read, “Maverick Founder of Southwest Airlines dies at 87”. Herb Kelleher was a true maverick, and that is an understatement.

Years ago I was on a Southwest flight from Phoenix to Chicago.  As the flight began, the flight attendant took to the microphone.  She said, “Welcome aboard.  We will be serving beverages on this flight, and soon our servers will be coming by.  At this time, I want everyone to open up their in-flight magazine and turn to page #29.  Got it?  OK, now go to the right column.  There you will see listed all the beverages we offer.  Now I would like you to go through this list, and choose what beverage you would like.  Is everybody with me?  Good.  And remember, we are completely out of, What do you have?”

That’s Southwest.  Who else would have the nerve?  As I reflected on that moment, I realized that they were following in true order of their values.  Here are their top three in order:

1. Have fun.
2. Love your employees
3. Love your customers.

So how come we customers ended up in third place?  Herb Kelleher knew that having fun and treating your people right was the way to have a loyal following.  Beyond that, he did have a quirky priority:  He looked for people who had strong personalities.  The whiskey-drinking, cigarette-smoking fellow just couldn’t settle for his folks saying “Have a nice day” in monotone.  The Southwest Airlines Crew:  They may excite you, they may infuriate you, but they will never bore you.  One more thing:  In the 20 years he was at the helm, Southwest made a profit every year, and they continue to do so.  Are you a maverick?

Posted: September 27, 2018 | Categories: Leadership, Team Building

I work with organizations and teams that have a strong desire to operate at top performance.  While there are many attitudes, skills, and behaviors that need to be in place, one attribute that is often overlooked is being approachable.  In his classic book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, Dale Carnegie said, “The expression we wear on our face is more important than the clothes we wear on our back.”  What is the expression on your face at rest?  Is there a sparkle to it, or do you tend to have a more stern look.  Here is a story for you:

Many years ago, I was facilitating some leadership training, and the class consisted mostly of small business owners.  Cliff was one of the owners.  He ran an HVAC business, and years ago he was struggling to motivate his team.  A friend made a suggestion:  “Why don’t you change the expression of your face at rest?  You will find your people are more comfortable approaching you.  Right now, it seems like they are avoiding you”.  Cliff took the suggestion to heart.  It was hard to get into the habit of always having a pleasant expression.  He stuck with it, It was two years before he firmly formed the habit.  It paid off.  He said it was the most important decision he had even made since going into business.  As more people approached him, the communication opened up.  With more communication came more teamwork and problem solving.  Think about it.  When you go in to a store, and everyone is smiling, take note of the boss.  He or she is probably smiling.  Conversely, if you walk in and see glum looks on everyone, take a look at the person in the mezzanine.  Be prepared for Mt. Rushmore!

Posted: September 7, 2018 | Categories: Customer service, Leadership, Management, Team Building

If we want our product or service to be competitive and profitable, we need to deliver on time, within budget, and meet quality requirements.  To consistently achieve these objectives, there is one area I am finding increasing frustration:  Management of vendors and subs.  Since these folks are not on the payroll, we do not have the line authority and control that we do over our own employees.

In my 40 years of coaching and training, there is one business owner that stands out as the best vendor/sub manager I have ever known.  His name was John, and he was a contractor.  He built homes in the $1 million-plus range and was famous for always finishing the home on time and within budget.  He also had customers who were “wowed” and eager to refer him to their friends.  John’s recipe was simple:  He knew the four steps of project management:

1. Begin with the end picture in mind.

2.  List every single task and activity that needs to be done.  Prioritize the items and put them                                                  in sequence.

3.  Plan each task.  Negotiate and set deadlines with your subcontractors.

4.  Hold your team accountable

As simple as it sounds, it is not easy.  John’s strength was in step #4:  Holding people accountable.  If a sub committed to a time and date, John expected the sub to be there.  He was not a harsh man.  He simply went by the “Four F’s”:  Firm, Friendly, Frank and Fair.  I role-played with him in class to challenge him.  I played a sub that was trying to re-schedule a date I had committed to.  John said to me, “Steve, that isn’t going to work.  Here is why:  We are a team with a reputation of doing things right and on time.  If you don’t do your work here on Tuesday, that will set our job behind.  It would compromise our reputation.  You don’t want that.  Neither do I.  I want you to go back to your schedule and work it out, Steve.  I am counting on you to be there on Tuesday as we have agreed.”

That’s leadership!

Posted: July 30, 2018 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Presentation skills

You may have heard the story of how “Post-it” notes came about.  Many years ago, an employee for 3M was looking for ways to bookmark different areas of his bible so that he could make quick reference to his favorite parts.  He developed sticky paper that would come to be known as “Post-it” notes”.  And have you ever gotten a cockle burr stuck to your jeans?  That gave us the idea for Velcro.  Of course, all of these ideas had to be sold, and in order for that to happen, someone of influence had to listen.

Have you ever been excited about an idea that you just knew would improve your company?   Was there ever a situation where you tried to sell it and got totally shut down?  If so, you were probably frustrated or even demoralized.  Companies should not want this to happen.  To be innovative, we need idea fluency.  We need to present our idea in a way that gives us the greatest possibility of receptivity.  Here are some points to consider:

Establish credibility.  Be an “eager beaver”.  Do you work, do it fast, and do it well.  In addition, be the first to volunteer for other projects.  Do them fast and do them well. Results will follow, and you will be noticed and respected.  When you have an idea that you would like to sell, you will have a much more receptive audience.

Let the game come to you.  There are times when the best strategy is to let the momentum come from the other direction.  Your idea is probably designed to improve a situation or solve a problem.  In your team discussion, those subjects are likely to come up.  When they do, there is your opportunity…”Say…here’s a thought…”  The channel will be more open since your idea fits right into the discussion.

Be flexible.  One of my favorite ideas of all time turned out well because I listening to a critic who had a constructive suggestion regarding how to improve my idea.  I was glad I listened!

Ben Franklin once said, “If you don’t get what you want the first time you shop, you can always shop again”.   In business, I see too many ideas die before they launch.  Stay with it.  (My wife can give you lessons on this!)