Employee Voice as a Strategic Priority

We've all heard, and most of us (hopefully) have adopted employee voice strategies in our organizations, right? We've built formal systems that allow our 'most valuable assets' to participate in our success.

More Than Talk
Plenty of organizations wrestle with the concept of the war for talent, addressing culture change, empowering staff, and on and on. 

It is the precious few though, that put those words into action. 

Policy changes that formalize employee voice channels...leadership visibility on a massive, sustainable scale...and taking action based on employee feedback are hallmarks of the most successful organizations. 

Do you have these systems in place yet?

Head In the Sand
If you are not one of the organizations that has committed to a positive employee culture, be warned. Simply because you have a long list of justifications as to why certain things need to be done (which oddly enough lines up exactly with your way of thinking); that does not mean your team is blindly following along.

Do you believe all of your employees simply follow you regardless of their insights?

How About You
Right now is the perfect time to pause and consider how you can provide a new level of leadership for your organization. What communication channels can you establish to create the culture you desire? What are you afraid of hearing from your people? 

It's better to be proactive now, instead of facing a dramatic shift in morale later, right?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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You Made My Day

I had something pretty cool happen recently. Someone told me that I "just made their day." Here's the coolest part...

...it was a stranger
...it involved public recognition
...and it leveraged his company's rewards program for the public to use

Wow! Right?

Practicing and Preaching
I've spent many years proclaiming the power of recognition. We all know it's an important tool for building relationships, trust, loyalty, and engagement. Sometimes I'm better at practicing it than preaching it, but I never lose sight of how impactful it can be.

The Story
Some of you may know that my professional life involves a heavy amount of travel; and with that, comes a familiarity with the staff of Southwest, the carrier I use. Well, one of the gate agents in Tampa is not only incredibly positive, but he is consistently positive every single day. 

Let's face it....gate agents don't get much glory. They don't sing you the safety instructions or bring you cans of water. They are stuck announcing flight delays or gate changes. 

Absolutely no glory whatsoever.

Well, Southwest has a rewards program whereby they send reward coupons to customers like me (think drink coupons, but targeted at recognizing their team members.) The coupons are personalized to me as a frequent customer, and allows me to recognize their team.

How good is that?

Which leads to his comment as I was walking by him to board the plane.

How About You
Are you doing more preaching than practicing when it comes to recognition in your organization? It's funny how it actually works out. His response made my day too.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Your Tops for 2018

For those of us who are devoted to Spotify we have just received our Top Songs list for 2018. It's not a big surprise to me that many of the songs near the top of the list are from bands I've seen this year. 

It's been a fantastic music year...as I look back at it all.

Caught Up in the Moment
As I scanned through the long list of music I realized I had 'forgotten' some of the songs and bands. How could that happen so quickly? One day at the top of my playlist, and the next I don't even remember them?

How is that possible?

...and then I thought about all of the work my team has done this year...

One day I'm deep into an issue...and the next I don't even remember?

How is that possible?

Time to Reflect
As we stare down the end of another year, and before the blogosphere gets crowded with resolutions and fresh start messages, I thought my Spotify-moment was worth raising as a pathway to considering all of the work you and your team have accomplished this year.

If you're anything like me, the minute a big initiative is successfully completed I am going full speed into the next one...and now that I'm no longer, shall we say, young-ish, I don't always remember all of those successes.

I think something wonderfu is lost in the hustle to always launch the 'next big thing' as quickly as possible, don't you?

How About You
As you wrap things up for 2018, take some time to reflect with your team on the successes of the past year. Talk about those wins. Re-congratulate each other for quality work that made a difference. Savor those moments...you're part of a special group of people all working toward the same goals. 

That my friends is a blessing we should never take for granted.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

I Know Everything

"They'll have to recognize my success this year. I've been the most effective member of the team!"

"I don't need them. It's better if I do it myself anyway!"

"I'm the life of the party. Just look at how charming I can be!"

"Those ideas are so stupid. Why would I even waste my time listening to that point of view?"

"Fortunately I am usually right. I don't need to worry about making big mistakes any longer. I'm at the top of my game!"

"There's really no need to say I'm sorry. I haven't done anything wrong!"

"Wow, what is wrong with them? They don't seem to fit in at all!"

How About You
Sometimes we get caught up in our own stuff, right? Maybe today is the best day to step back, look at those around us, and put them first. It's not always "about us."

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.
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Senior Leaders, Cheap Talk, & Being Present

"Culture is to recruiting, as product is to marketing."
- Hubspot's Culture Code

Culture, Culture, Culture
The word culture sure gets thrown around a lot, don't you think? For me, it's right up there with values. If I hear one more executive espouse their organization's values, without taking action to prove they matter, I think I might spit.

Every organization obviously has a culture. However, many organizations do not have the culture they claim, or they secretly know in their "heart" that theirs has unlimited room for improvement.

If we all know these things, claim our employees are our most valuable asset, and continue to preach our culture message over and over yet still have major gaps relative to reality, what is the missing piece?

All You Do To Me is Talk Talk
For many leaders, landing that big title or breaking into the executive ranks feels like the end of a long journey, when in fact, it is only the beginning. They often feel as if they can ramble on and on simply because they must be the smartest person in the room, just look at their title!

Think of leaders as the six players on a hockey team during a game. 

Six players, but twenty-thousand fans staring at them...watching every move...hoping for good decisions, and the effort to back up what they say when they are off the ice.

It's the same for us in leadership. There are only a few of us compared to all of the employees who work in our companies. 

They are watching every move...hoping for good decisions, and the effort to back up what we say during meeting after meeting after meeting.

Are you with me?

How About You
Words are incredibly powerful tools for leaders. They inspire, motivate, encourage, reward, hold accountable, recognize and fire up the people around them. But in the absence of action...or follow through...

...the words damage the credibility of that leader. 

It's time to back up the culture talk with culture ACTION!

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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New Year, Old Challenge

"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward."
- Amelia Earhart

The start of each year is often filled with self-reflection, motivation to create change, or a list of 'goals' for the months ahead.

Perhaps this year, we should all focus on one simple task in our work lives...

...making decisions.

Indecisive leaders are perhaps the most frustrating, ineffective, and candidly useless members of the team. 

They don't add value, because they never make a decision. 

They don't command respect because no one is really sure where they stand on the issues. 

And, they don't instill confidence in their teams because their employees see the fear of failure in their eyes every single day.

How About You
Which leader in your organization do you need to reach out to this year to help make the decisions required in their role? Go to them today. Have an open and honest conversation...and help them realize their full potential this year.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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One-Faced Leader

I hear a hell of a lot of noise in the world of leadership. Fancy titles, and years of doing the same thing over and over without changing with the times...er...I mean, lots of experience...do not equate with one of the easiest ways to be effective.

Be real! 

Be you!

Stop trying to sound like something you're not!

Jargon

Regardless of the terms in the glossary of your certification credentials handbook of choice, I beg you to only use them when you're taking your favorite certification exam.

No one else cares about them, and quite honestly, no one should. 

"Jargon, in any field, becomes the cover that hides rampant incompetence of leaders everywhere. 

Leadership is not about words, 

it is about connecting with the people 

in your organization and making 

a difference for them, and your company."

- Jay Kuhns

Not About You

Time and again we hear the pundits espouse the power of listening, connecting, engaging, and working closely with our teams. 

Yet the reality is far too often a constant reminder from leadership that they are the "smart ones" and the rest of the team should be grateful that they are in place to save the day.

Pass me my barf bag.

These are the same leaders who are mocked behind their backs for being so embarrassingly out of touch with their own corporate cultures that the team wonders what they actually do all day.

How About You

There should only be one face that leaders wear. It should not be covered in fancy titles, corporate jargon or illusions of power shown only in the workplace. Instead, it should be one that is authentic, consistent, and unafraid to be seen where it matters most...

...on the front line.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Expectations and Engaged Employees

The concept of employee engagement is used so frequently in the world of work, I often see my leadership colleagues in a variety of industries roll their eyes when it comes up in conversation.

Yet, they publicly espouse the value and priority of having an engaged workforce...that it will make a huge difference in the performance of their companies...and that without it they will fall behind their competition.

Wait, what? 

I think I've stumbled onto one of the disconnects between leaders and engaged employees.

Expectations.

The Leader Lens
In my experience, I see many leaders wishing they could somehow "see" or "feel" the engagement of the employees. I'm not entirely sure what this means though.

- Should there be big smiles all day every day?
- Should there be verbal expressions of gratitude?
- Should there be public displays of a$$ kissing?

Regardless the expectation, the notion that a tangible behavior validates a degree of workforce engagement seems to be more important than whether or not they actually are engaged in the first place.

The Employee Lens
Here's my candid take on the employee side of the engagement issue. 

Create a positive energy in the workplace, prioritize their needs, be supportive and inclusive, share as much as you can as quickly as possible, pay competitively, recognize good performers and remove poor ones, be accessible to the team, be clear on expectations and performance, don't trick yourself into believing your job title makes you smarter than the team, laugh at yourself, be honest, be fair, be human.

Oh, and I don't think they necessarily want to jump up and down in joyful praise...they just want to do a good job.

How About You
Try strapping the employee lens on when you walk out of your office this afternoon. How does your world look now? Any different?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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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Recruiters Talk to Candidates, Right?

No, I'm not joking. There are some organizations out there that believe a recruiter's job is to wander around in the ATS, find applicants that match minimum job requirements, and forward those resumes to various hiring managers.

Well, friends, that is not recruiting. That is simply embarrassing.

(extra long pause here for those of you frantically wondering if this is how your recruitment team operates)

Seeing It Differently
For many traditional human resources departments, and in particular #HealthcareHR teams, the notion of sourcing, screening, and actively recruiting...is something that they don't have to do. 

Their organizations believe they are so special that they can just blindly meander through the flood of applicants and eventually find viable candidates. 

This simply can not continue if quality patient care is actually a priority for the organization. 

An outdated and poorly trained "recruitment" team is unacceptable in the competitive healthcare industry.

Stop With the Ancient Excuses
Many of my colleagues in the #HealthcareHR space cling to old behaviors, wasteful strategies, and tired excuses as to why they can no longer find talent.

Consider the consequences of their ineffectiveness:
- rampant use of expensive contract labor
- excessive overtime
- low morale due to persistent staffing shortages
- patient diversions due to the inability to fill critical positions
- lost revenue

It is (far beyond) time for massive changes in how human resources positions itself. There is no more important part of the organization when one takes into account the devastating impact of staffing shortfalls.

No one should stand in the way of a high impact talent acquisition strategy.

No one should deny that unless healthcare organizations compete in the most contemporary of ways they will struggle, and ultimately fail.

No one should assume they have greater authority over the work that HR must deliver on in the name of "protecting the brand" or "worrying about social media."

Good God, it's 2017. If you have anyone pushing back using these excuses you have every right to run them over with the reality of the business case that ensures organizational survival.

But first...

How About You
...but first...you must step up your professional game and embrace the strategies that work in today's digital world. The old approaches you've used for so long, that are failing miserably, must be let go.

Reach out to a trusted friend, colleague, mentor...me...to get the support you need. There isn't any time left to wait.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

Be Positive Everyday? What?

Leaders...um, I mean people... are negative, and cynical, and snarky...and apparently that seems to be an appropriate excuse for behavior that never seems to change.

Our leadership colleagues lament the never ending struggle to build the right corporate culture that has high levels of engagement, strong retention, and breakthrough performance from the team.

...and they will continue to lament...because that's what most ineffective leaders do.

Your Team Is Not the Problem
It's fascinating to watch and listen as leaders spend massive amounts of time and energy trying to "figure out" their employees. 

Their excuses reign supreme:
- millennials
- old-timers
- ungrateful staff
- too new
- don't understand how things are done here
- not a good fit for "our culture"

As the leadership mob-mentality picks up steam, I typically either have to excuse myself to laugh in the hallway, or my eyes roll so far into the back of my head I black out for a moment.

The issues facing organizations today have little to do with figuring out employees. They have everything to do with leadership changing. Quick show of hands, how many leaders like changing their style to help their organizations compete and win?

None is the answer. Absolutely none.

Excuses for Everyone
The tricky part here is that many leaders talk about change, bang their fist on the table to show how committed they are (in the conference room, not in front of the staff), and generally make sure they have the current lingo down so they can appear as if they are in full control of what needs to be accomplished.

Well, I have to tell you...I don't believe a word of it.

When leaders bring a consistently positive approach to their work, employees notice.
When leaders bring a nonstop flow of energy to their work, employees notice.
When leaders power through difficulty and include the team, employees notice.
When leaders acknowledge that they are the root of the problem, employees notice.

How About You
What do your employees notice about you? Do they feel like some sort of science experiment that you are trying to figure out? Or, are you the rare blast of positive energy that they are longing to follow?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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It's Not Business...It's Personal

There is a never ending amount of pressure to deliver results in the world. Whether we work for a large company, a small firm, our church, coach a sports team, or have taken the plunge and work for ourselves, results are the endgame that connects us all.

I’ve seen many leaders (including me) who attempt to separate the business decisions we must make, from the feelings we have as part of that decision-making process.

Let’s call it…corporate justification for not caring about our team members.

Did that hit a little too close to home?

Business Is Important

One of my pet peeves is that leaders do not execute. I write about it a lot because I've collected so many examples of it over the years. 

"Many leaders are so afraid to fail, that they would rather focus their energies on saving their own butt, instead of making a real difference for their organizations or people."

Here's the core problem: under such pressure many leaders treat their employees with a cold indifference all in the name of "business."

Everything Is Personal
Now for a moment of self-disclosure. I put a lot of time, energy, and yes, passion into my work.

If things go poorly, I feel terrible.
If I am criticized for doing an ineffective job, I feel terrible.
If the team's work falls short of a goal, I feel terrible.

I take it all personally. 

All of it.

Newsflash! All of your employees take it personally too. They care about the work they're doing. They care about being successful. They care about getting ahead.

Newsflash #2! Your employees do not wake up each day trying to scam you. Get the hell over yourself and your pompous view of your team.

How About You
Maybe it's time we retire the phrase "it's not personal...it's business." What do you think? It seems to have worked as well as the old command and control behaviors that have destroyed the credibility of so many "leaders" our there. 

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Are You The Asteroid?

It was an amazing and beautiful time. The world seemed to be just right. Life had a certain flow. There was an order to things, everything had it's place, life flourished and best of all it seemed to make sense. Life was good.

Then an asteroid hit the earth and wiped out the dinosaurs.

Your Work
I'm guessing that your workplace has a certain flow to it. Maybe even a rhythm that is almost palpable. You might even say that you've experienced amazing things in your work because of the nature of the people who make up the team. That is truly a beautiful (and rare) gift.

Have you considered people...the ones who somehow intersect with your life...as a gift? What about those that don't work directly with you, but as a leader in your organization you're responsible for? (Yes, even if they don't work for you, they are still your responsibility.)

People as a gift. I like that.

A lot.

What's That In The Sky
Sometimes we take gifts, or culture, or work ethic for granted. It doesn't happen overnight, but more gradually as time passes. When we take our eyes off the "gifts" around us, we can miss a problem that is headed our way. 

We can easily get so caught up in our task list or action plan or "priority of the day" that we fail to see that we're off course.

When an organization drifts off course it is the people...those incredible gifts...that pay the price. It isn't that "the plan" has now been compromised. People are the plan. It's not that we're going to miss an earnings target. People should be our targets. 

The culture and morale of our companies suffer when we allow disruptive leaders to wield their influence in a way that moves people from being considered a gift, to being pawns that must live in fear and succumb to that leader's will.

How About You
Who are the asteroids in your organization? What are you doing to change their trajectory so they don't cause a collision; but instead, get the coaching, support and feedback they need to stave off a disaster?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.



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Where Is The Accountability?

Sometimes I feel we've all gotten a bit soft in today's world. It's so easy to turn away, claim we need a bit more documentation, or to simply ignore the situation until it is so polluted that the decision you should have made months ago is now pathetically obvious (and nearly risk-free.)

But at what cost?

It's Okay To Get Involved

What happens in our organizations when we as HR leaders identify issues but do nothing about them? Here's a short list:

- Low morale

- Decreased productivity

- Bad turnover

- Poor quality work product or service
- A spot on the "Worst Places to Work" list

How About You
Where are you on this issue HR? Do feel more comfortable waiting for people to come to you with full documentation of every little issue that has ever occurred before you act?

Or, do you go get the information you need so you can actually contribute and support all of those great employees that are watching and waiting for someone to take action?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.



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