When Employees Make Mistakes

Question: How many of us have team members that have stumbled?

Answer: All of us.

Reactions, Fear and True Colors
Mistakes are one of the most important opportunities for leaders to demonstrate to the rest of the team what they are all about. Are anger, harsh words or the proverbial cold shoulder part of your leadership playbook "to make a point?" Guess what? 

You are an abject failure. 

Strong words? Yep. 

Accurate? Hell, yes.

If we take a moment and put ourselves in the place of our employee who has made the error, we must realize they are feeling more anxiety than we are. They have failed. They are "in trouble." They may even have put their employment status in jeopardy.

Now, which one of us is more stressed?

In that moment when we feel a surge of energy, and the myriad consequences are rapidly processing through our heads...

...that is exactly when we need to show who we are as leaders. Our true colors.

Being Evaluated
What is often forgotten in our haste to react, to correct the error, and to normalize operations, is that not only is the employee watching our every move; but so is the rest of the team.

If you still believe that employees are not discussing when and how they are held accountable for their mistakes you are completely out of touch with reality.

Instead, consider those moments as the perfect chance to balance accountability with compassion. Take a moment to consider what you will say, and how you will deliver the message. I call this the "one second rule" - literally, give yourself one second to decide.

The manner in which you treat the employee will be shared, discussed, and evaluated either positively or negatively. Quite honestly, I'm counting on that discussion to occur. It is an opportunity to give real insight into one's leadership style under a very private set of circumstances that is not readily visible.

How About You
Do you want to be known as some sort of prehistoric leadership dinosaur that "goes off" on people? Or, would you prefer to be known as the leader who is fair, approachable, but still firm when necessary? 

One last question..have you ever made a mistake? How did you want to be treated?

I thought so.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Your Community - Your Future

The incredible power of communities in today’s world of work is literally transformational. Particularly for the untapped world of healthcare human resources or other risk-averse industry professionals. 

I’ll give you a real life example…me.

I spent twenty years in hospital human resources leadership, including the last fourteen in executive roles. As I watched the world of effective leadership change rapidly, I realized I either had to step up or stop claiming I was a leader.

"Harsh? Not really. I take the title of leader very seriously, and I believe leaders have to actually do the work, not just sit around fancy conference rooms tossing around leadership quote meme ideas."

Leadership is not only talk…leadership is action. I took ownership of what I knew had to change and completely reinvented myself and how I practiced HR. I made the conscious decision to grow my communities, and ended up positioning myself (unknowingly at the time) for the job I have now.

Oh, and by the way...making these changes revolutionized the talent function at my last hospital far beyond my wildest expectations.

Getting Started

1.  The first step is learning…branching out to try new tools…and it is surprisingly simple:

"Get over yourself."

Forget about your ego, your loaded LinkedIn profile, and your inflated sense of self. I'm serious...you're not that special (neither am I.)

2.  The second rule is to select one tool to help grow your community. For example if you choose twitter start by setting up your account, be sure to use the same picture from your LinkedIn profile, and be patient.

No one will expect you to be a power user on day one! Search the tool to find other leaders in the #HealthcareHR space (it will be a quick search!) or other industry. Look for other leaders, organizations, and thought leaders you trust and connect with them.

Engage

3.  The third step is to start using the tool. One of the best ways to do that on twitter, or snapchat (which is now #2 behind facebook, yes!); or any tool for that matter, is to participate. Retweet and share content. Let others know you like their work. Compliments are completely risk-free!

Remember, you talk to people all day…every day…so you can certainly handle hitting the Retweet button!

How About You

4.  The last step is to reach out directly to others, particularly those outside your specific industry space. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, explain that you are learning and want to participate. While this may sound like a long slow road, what you will quickly discover is that your online communities will grow so quickly you won’t believe it.

...and that impacts your leader brand.
...which impacts your employer brand.

I’m living proof.

Please do not feel like you need to do this alone. 

I want to help! Connect with me and let's get you started:

twitter:            @jrkuhns
snapchat:        jrkuhns
Instagram:     jrkuhns
Swarm:           Jay Kuhns
Pinterest:       jrkuhns
anchor:          Jay Kuhns

I’d love to hear from you.

No Excuses.  

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First Strike is Deadly

Have you ever said something, and just as those words were leaving your mouth, you knew you’d made a mistake? It’s not easy to take words back. In fact, it’s impossible. Since this issue could be applied in just about every facet of life, let’s focus specifically on the workplace.

You can’t take words back.

Watchers and Listeners

One of the biggest challenges to leadership is not so obvious. We (read here => “I”) often get so caught up in saying just the right words at just the right times to make sure I look like I’ve got it all together that I forget about the real impact on those around me. The teams of employees in our organizations are watching what we do, how we react, and whether we’re calm under pressure…or not.

People we influence pay very close attention, just as you and I do when we observe our supervisors. Do you see what’s happening here? You and I are no different than all of the other employees who walk in the front door of the building each day. Did you think we were special? Really?

Think First (this part may be hard)

One of the techniques that has helped me innumerable times is the one second rule. Simply put, I try (usually unsuccessfully) to give myself one second to either affirm what I am about to say; or, to make that all important change to what is about to come out of my mouth.

You can’t take words back.

How About You

In today’s fast paced world of instant communication, how do you ensure that you’re saying what you want to say versus saying what first pops into your mind? I could sure use your help.

I’d love to hear from you .

No Excuses.

pic courtesy of flamingtext

The One Second Rule

How many times have these words flashed through your mind: "I wish I could take back what I just said!"?  How many times have you worked with a leader on a complicated employee issue only to learn they said something that makes a difficult situation impossible to resolve?  

If only there was a simple way to head off these foot-in-mouth moments.  So much time, energy, and embarrassment could be avoided.

Just Give Me A Second, Literally 

Slowing down to think before we speak is not as easy as it sounds.  Sure, we're professionals and we're supposed to be good at this stuff, right?  But what tool can we realistically offer to the leaders we support that is easy to use and easy to remember? 


The One Second Rule.


I know we're all busy, and have a hectic life full of drama, projects, deadlines and more drama.  However, I have to believe that we all have at least one second to spare.  It's in that one second of time that the magic happens.  Give yourself just one second to affirm, or change, what you are about to say.  Think of the implications:


- one less insensitive remark
- one less racial slur
- one less harsh comment to an employee
- one less arrogant statement
- one less gender-biased remark
- one less homophobic comment
- one moment to lead -> GAINED.


NOW IS THE TIME


We can not wait to implement this rule.  If we strive to create organizational cultures rich in cognitive diversity as Joe Gerstandt so effectively describes, then we can ill afford to have our leaders cutting off these opportunities before they even begin.

Think before you speak.  Give yourself a chance to do the right thing before it's too late and you find yourself wishing you could "have those words back."  

I know it's difficult to do...I struggle mightily with this every single day.

HOW ABOUT YOU


How do you ensure you don't regret making comments that deflate instead of empower?  How do you make the conscious choice to say the right words at the right time to the right people?  How do you invest your One Second?

I'd love to hear from you.


No Excuses.










pics courtesy of http://www.backseatblogger.com/ and http://www.blogs.discovermagazine.com/