Leaders Lead…..And Focus On Character

Company character is at risk every day. Your business is being judged by your customers, your suppliers, your employees and your competitors. As a leader, you have to be on your game at all times.

One thing you need to understand as a business manager is that your employees are your brand. Showing that you care for your employees is the ultimate message you will send about the character of yourself and the company. Remember, the character message you send to your employees is the same message your employees will portray to your customers. How can company leaders expect their employees to care for the customers if they don’t feel cared for themselves? Note: your employees are your brand!

Research indicates that a focus on ethics, values, and character in the workplace can have significant impact on key business metrics such as improved customer service, reduced liability costs, improved employee retention, and increased productivity…..all the things your supervisor will be rating you on.

As a changing economy begins to reinvent the world of business, decision makers don’t have time to ponder and contemplate about the moral implications of every action they take. Being ethical must be instinctive, and that is where character comes into play. As businesses struggle with the strategic need to attract and maintain an effective workforce, character provides the foundation for credible and trustworthy business relationships.

Understanding the power behind projecting high standards and ethics in your business is the missing link to Building World-Class Teams. All companies create mission statements and vision statements that encompass the character of the company and revel in its importance. But, once the employees leave employee orientation, does the character of the company retain any importance in the day-to-day operation of the business? 

If you want to build your business from the inside out…..walk the talk! Instill in your employees the high standards you promise your customers by training your employees on the values of the organization. But remember, this concept starts from the top and works it way down to the line employees. If your executive team is focused on displaying a high quality of character, you can guarantee your employees will perceive and emulate the value as well.

3 Tips To Jumpstart Company Character And Beat Your Competiton

Are you looking for more avenues to make your business stand out from the competiton?

Many businesses look at discounts, special sales, free gifts and other gimmicks to draw in new customers. These are all great ideas, but do they actually offer results to your bottom line? Sadly fewer and fewer businesses are focusing on “retaining” their current customer base and turning them into loyal customers and clients.

If you want to beat out your competition here two words you should focus on: Customer Service. And, customer service begins and ends with having a team of employees that will promote the company in a positive light, serve the customer and ask them to return on a consistent basis while at the same time…..referring your business to their family, friends, and contacts.

If you really want to beat your competition in today’s recessed market, focus on “Building World-Class Teams” and you will not only learn how to retain your employees; but, you will have happy employees helping you promote the high character of your company to your clients which will yeild high results by retaining your current client base.

Leaders can not expect their employees to display good character if they are not capable of displaying the same values within the workplace. You’ve worked hard to become a leader, but now you need to continue those efforts by demonstrating to your employees the character you want displayed and represented by your company. Always remember that character builds the business and the company’s fate relies on not only understanding good character traits, but having the ability to display good character and teach what characteristics build successful teams.

1. Providing your employees with thorough training/orientation will begin the process of teaching the character of the company. Don’t expect your employees to join your organization and immediately understand your corporate character…..teach them. Teaching the history of the company and the morals that the company was founded upon will help the employees have a clear vision of the expectations you have for them.
2. Creating and maintaining an open door policy with your employees is one of the greatest virtues a company can have. Many companies say they have an open door policy, but few actually promote the policy. One of the best ways a company can display good character to its employees is to actively promote the open door policy and always listen for ways to build employee morale, improve work environments, and increase productivity. Sure, you’re going to hear things that you don’t want to hear about yourself as a manager and company policies. But, listening to your employees instead of trying to talk over your employees is a sure fire way to display the character of management and the company. This doesn’t mean you have to always agree with your team members…..just listen and show them that you respect their opinions and are willing to consider their input to create a better workplace for all concerned.
3. Assigning new employees a mentor will help maintain good character within the workplace. When new employees enter your company, it is vital that they meet and connect with those who display a positive attitude. Nothing can undermine your company’s character quicker than negative employees. They will greatly impact the belief system of the new employee. Mentors provide business leaders with a tool to ensure that new employees have the best work environment to begin developing their own character within the organization.

If you are looking for more ways to build a solid team in your business, you can download a copy of my free eBook “Building World-Class Teams.” You can  start today edging out your competition simply by making your employees understand they are a valued resource in your company.

Managing Change Within Your Team

If your business, or a department within your business, is suffering from lack of teamwork, it is inevitable that a change is needed for your business to survive and be profitable.

Even though on the outside it may seem that all of the parts are working, it is probably evident to you that it is not working like a well-oiled machine. Companies become stagnant, lack of productivity prevails, employee morale suffers and eventually profits plummet. It’s time for a change!

 But change is often met by employees with great resistance and usually with the mindset that they refuse to change because “everything is working just fine the way it is.” Or is it?

Explaining to your teams that change is something that is needed to help the entire company succeed is usually a difficult task for company leaders. And, if you’re the company owner, it’s sometimes even difficult to get the buy-in from your leaders. Few of us are comfortable when we hear that a change is in our future. We have created our own comfort zones and usually dig our heels in playing the blame game as to why the company is not as successful as it should be.

One of the greatest challenges you can experience as a business leader is having your teams agree that a change is necessary…..each and every person must participate for the change to be effective, complete and whole.

Jerald M. Jellison, Ph.D, points out in his book “Managing The Dynamics Of Change” some very innovative methods for getting team members to understand how allowing change within the work place can easily ramp up employee performance and result in higher morale and ultimately more profits for the company. “If you’ve managed during a merger, downsizing, reorganization, outsourcing, or tried to set up new processes and procedures, you know that the greatest challenge is dealing with the human dimensions of change,” Jellison writes.

Somewhere along the way, teams lose their focus. They lose the meaning of camaraderie and forget how much easier it is to work as a team rather than struggling individually. Teams balk at change because they think it means more work on their individual self. However, they tend to forget that working as a team can be more organized and members can focus on their individual strengths to help the team move forward toward success.

In Jellison’s book, “Managing the Dynamics Of Change” he shows us how change undergoes a 5 stage process by using the J Curve principle:

Stage 1: The Plateau

Stage 2: The Cliff

Stage 3: The Valley

Stage 4: The Ascent

Stage 5: The Mountaintop

Most team members fear change because they think since there is a possibility that something can go wrong…..it will definitely go wrong…..that’s part of the change. Things will get worse before it gets better. But, you must go through these steps to get to “The Mountaintop” of a successful business.

In Stage 1 of Change, The Plateau, team members will be made aware that change is inevitable and you are expecting their participation. You can expect much discontent and anguish during this time. But, most of all, because everyone is waiting on the change instead of helping make the change…..nothing new will happen. For a short time, during The Plateau stage, you will find that really nothing seems different. You will see the same bad habits, the same employee cliques, the same lack of enthusiasm for change. Everyone is anticipating and fearful of The Cliff stage but everyone is avoiding being the first one to step off The Cliff!

Stage 2 is where everyone starts to feel the symptoms they had been anticipating and fearing…..The Cliff…..the place where productivity drops, morale seems to bottom out. Everyone is saying “I told you so. This will never work. Look how much worse things are!” Stage 2 is the level where team members start attempting to go back to the old way of doing things because it was easier and seemed to have a pattern of success for them. Old habits die hard and this is the stage you bury those old bad habits. Team members comfort level will drop as they try new processes, work with new tools, report to new supervisors…..this is expected and a component of the process. The stress level seems almost too much to take to your team members. And then, Stage 3 begins to emerge!

In Stage 3 of Change, The Valley, team members begin to notice that even though job performance is still declining, the decline is not as rapid. The changes are still occurring, but everyone is beginning to adapt and the changes don’t seem so prolific…..they are more tolerable of the new change! It is in this stage that team members begin to understand the new programs you’ve initiated, they begin to recognize that the change does not affect their comfort zone as much as they had expected. But most importantly, they realize that the change is really beginning to become easier, employee morale is improving and the team is beginning to work together toward the common goal. “The Valley” stage is where it is vital that you as the leader begin to praise your team. Let them know YOU see a difference and that things will continue to get better and easier. Full participation from the leader is required in this stage to make the team members realize their participation in this stage is beginning to pay off. Keep your team motivated in this stage and you will soon advance to “The Ascent.”

Stage 4 of Change “The Ascent” is when you and your team members begin to experience the pay off. You begin to notice a change for the better. In the J Curve, you begin to start climbing toward the top and everyone begins to notice the successes of the changes you have implemented. As performance improves, employee morale begins to climb the J Curve. You will begin to sense a feeling of teamwork between your employees again. They will begin to realize that the change has actually started to not only make their jobs easier as they work together in a more structured environment, but they will begin to display a sense of pride for their accomplishments. And, as team members begin to enjoy their new found job descriptions, they will also begin to herald the leader for bringing on the change for their successes. In my opinion, the best part of this stage is when the team members begin to promote the change themselves. Now you have a team working together for the success of the changes. Once they hit this level of change, you will begin to notice they will start talking about how beneficial the changes are to the entire team. That’s when you know you’re ready to progress to the next stage: “The Mountaintop.”

“The Mountaintop” is the fifth stage of change…..the pinnacle of success. In Stage 5 the team members will begin to experiment with their own successes and be willing to stretch their imaginations for new ways to make the changes even more abundant. They will rejoice in how easy the changes have made their day-to-day life and wonder why they didn’t do this change earlier. Productivity will begin to surge and team members will be working together as one team with a new sense of excitement for building the company. Just as when you’ve reached the mountain top on a long, rigorous hike, once you make it to the top, nothing is more exhilarating than knowing you accomplished your goal. Stand at the top of the mountain alongside your team members and shout as your successes echo in the valleys below. You’ve earned it!

Change is inevitable in all companies whether it’s due to an economic downturn, company relocation, a new CEO, or a company sellout. But, if you follow the 5 Stages of Change and learn to manage the dynamics of change, as pointed out by Jerald M. Jellison, you will realize that change always has a workable solution. But you, the leader, must be willing to take the most uncomfortable steps and guide your team one step at a time from The Plateau to The Mountaintop.