Archive for the 'Management' Category

“Managers hold on, leaders let go.”

I had the opportunity to meet Roy Williams, currently Head Basketball Coach of the 2005 National Champion North Carolina Tar Heels, when he was Head Coach at the University of Kansas. We met on the putting green at the Alvamar Golf Course in Lawrence, Kansas. I wasn’t about to miss this opportunity to learn from one of the most successful coaches in college basketball and asked him the following question, “Coach Williams, what do you feel are the keys to building championship teams?” His answer was simple yet profound…

“Byrd, I feel that there are two keys to building championship teams. Number one, you must have fun. If you don’t really enjoy the game and only focus on winning, you won’t sustain long-term success. The second key is that the players must be given the freedom to play the game. Yes, we have designed plays that we practice to perfection and we don’t tolerate selfish attitudes, but the players must have the confidence and freedom to go for the basket or take the open shot when such opportunities arise. If players aren’t confident to take risks, they will never perform to their full potential.”

Fun & Freedom - Pretty sound principles from one of the best coaches in the game of basketball. Is your team having fun and are they given the freedom to perform to their full potential? If not, it’s never too late to make the needed changes.

And remember, it’s all about the relationship.

Leading edge businesses foster the following values to create the right environment that gets and keeps the best employees…

• An environment of Opportunity

• An environment of Trust

• An environment of Respect

• An environment of Appreciation

• An environment of Accountability

• An environment of Excellence

• An environment of Enthusiasm

• An environment of Fun

• An environment of open and honest Communication

• An environment of Compassion

A few closing thoughts to ponder…
Do people understand you?
Do people trust you?
Do people know that you care?

And remember, it’s all about the relationship.

• The quality of performance in your business is a direct reflection of the quality of leadership.

• People are the only known constant of the future.

• The majority of your associates are disengaged (unhappy) with their immediate supervisors.

• People join companies and leave managers.

• There is a direct connection between one’s leadership effectiveness at home and work.

• Behavior drives results. Change behavior and change results.

• Leadership is a feeling. People want to feel valued, secure, and appreciated.

• Legendary Leaders inspire others to dream, risk, believe, and achieve.

And remember, it’s all about the relationship.

Trust
Legendary Leaders always do the right thing according to a foundation of ethical and moral standards and know that trust, once lost, is almost impossible to regain. They do what they say they will do, when they said they would do it, and how they said they would do it.

Communication
Legendary Leaders ask the right questions to get the right answers. Lack of effective communication skills is one of the main reasons for disengagement. Effective leaders utilize understand that open and honest communication is the lifeblood of trust. Legendary Leaders understand that people want to be understood. This takes time, patience, and compassion. Great leaders take the time to get to know their team members. It all starts with an open and honest conversation.

Appreciation
Lack of appreciation is the number one reason associates become disengaged. Remember, people want to feel valued, secure, and appreciated.

• How to Improve Loyalty - Make 5 deposits of appreciation before you earn the right to one withdrawal of criticism.

• Legendary Leaders Practice R.A.R.E. - Random Acts of Recognition Everyday

And remember, it’s all about the relationship

“The shortest distance between mediocrity and excellence is the truth.”

Authentic leaders understand that to become a person of influence, they must always seek, speak, and live the truth. It may sometimes hurt, but it will always help, as trust once lost is almost impossible to regain.

Following are the five things authentic leaders do with truth…

1. They seek it.
2. They speak it.
3. They expect it.
4. They respect it.
5. They live it.

And remember, it’s all about the relationship.

I recently had a disturbing conversation with a close friend who has been employed by a Fortune 500 company for thirty years. Upon asking the question, “How are things at work?” this individual replied, “Not good.” The obvious next question was, “Why?”

The rest of the conversation was a case study on how bad things were at the company that he and thousands of others formally referred to as one big extended family. Probing further, I asked how he felt the majority of employees would respond to the following three questions:

• Do you enjoy coming to work?

• Do you trust management?

• Do you feel appreciated?

His immediate response: “My feeling is that the majority of employees, for certain in my department, would answer “NO” to all three questions.” He concluded with the following words, “I love this company, but we are headed for disaster. My main goal is to make it to retirement.” What a tragedy!

As one who works with organizations to develop leaders and winning teams, I must confess that this conversation is more the rule than the exception. This company, like many others, has lost touch with reality and is making the deadly sin of focusing only on the bottom line. This insensitive handling of peoples’ hearts and souls has destroyed the loyalty that was once the heart of its caring culture and is a powerful example of what happens when all focus is placed on bottom line results. Arie De Geus, in his enlightening book The Living Company, shares some powerful findings as to why companies die young:

“Companies die because their managers focus on the economic activity of producing goods and services, and they forget that their organizations’ true nature is that of a community of humans.”

What is the solution to this terrible problem? The heroes are the few servant leaders who realize the worth of people, who understand the power of love and compassion and place the well being of employees above the daily value of their stock. These men and women understand the wisdom of serving others and the positive influence that compassion has on the balance sheet.

I feel passionately that servant leadership is the “High Touch” solution to most of our problems in the work place and home place. My hope is that many will respond to the call for more effective servant leaders. If this occurs, thousands of people will achieve their dreams and, most importantly, will understand that there is hope for the future!

And remember, it’s all about the relationship.