Choose to Learn. Choose to Teach.

Have you ever noticed that the most successful people never stop learning?  In fact, successful people never stop; they keep going, topping success after success.  I like the way Lifestyle Explorer, Tomo Mayocchi, put it in her Lifestyle Lift Journey Blog, “Instead of sitting back on the couch and enjoying their success, they choose to learn more.”

The attribute of choosing to learn more can definitely come in handy in today’s career and job market.  More and more I am hearing from employers that their biggest ache is the lack of qualified candidates.  When I read Dr. Ira S. Wolf’s  statement in Lack of Employee Mobility Puts Kink In Skilled Worker Pipeline that “Not only is finding candidates with the experience and/or skills to do the job comparable to finding the proverbial needle in the haystack in many industries, but a lack of employee mobility has slapped handcuffs on the few available skilled workers.” Two thigs came to mind:

1. What can we do as SUPERvisors to grow our skills and become even more qualified for the position we hold?
2. What can we do as SUPERvisors to make employees a more valuable and mobile asset to the company?

The answer: Choose to learn.  Choose to teach.
The result: Success.  

Technology has changed the face of the classroom as we know it!  If you’re thinking night school when I say “choose to learn”, read on for a few out of the classroom alternatives:

• Webinars – “short for Web-based Seminar, a presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar that is transmitted over the Web” – Wikipedia
  What is great about a webinar is that you can learn without leaving the office and since most webinars are recorded, if you can’t join in live, you can log on later.  Look for free industry specific webinars and remember to look for two types: those that will grow your skills and those that will grow your team.  For example, I like Power Lunch with Power Training for me and some of the Optimum Productivity Free Webinars for the whole team.  

• Blogs – The word is a combination of web and log and as eblogger puts it, blogs are “memos to the world”.  
  
  The idea behind following or subscribing to industry specific blogs is that they will allow you to see what others are up to and how they are taking care of business.  For example, if you happen to be in the banking industry, you might follow: Coaches Corner a blog by Redwood Credit Union that not only highlights their “financial coaches” but also introduces their clients and the specifics of their accomplished savings as a result of the “financial coaching” they offer.  The idea is brilliant as I don’t know any other bank that recognizes it’s customers in such a personable way.  Blogs are a great way to develop ideas through what others are doing and use as real life examples to motivate and get employees thinking by showing them what others are doing.
  
  
• Podcasts – "A podcast is an episodic program delivered via the Internet"–apple.com. Typically, subscribers download the podcast and listen from their ipod.  
  
  I like podcasts because they are convenient.  I can tune in and learn at any time and any place it is appropriate for me to use my ipod.  There are thousands of free podcasts out there that you can subscribe to, all you have to do is find at least one that is related to your industry or job title to begin learning.
  
  
• Conventions (conferences or seminars) - A formal meeting of specific members and industry that is always jammed packed with the latest news, the best practices and a ton of motivation.  
  
  Use these to re-energize, stay progressive and make connections.  You will leave feeling motivated to do your best.  Apply what you learned to your department and keep in touch with those you met to share the progress you've made and ask to hear what they took and applied to their department.
  
  
• Online Education - Degree and certificate programs that allow you the flexibility to determine when and where you learn. 
  
  Add to your credibility and expertise by acquiring a degree or a certificate in an area  that will compliment your position.   According to successdegrees.com “employers take a more positive view of online degrees nowadays than they once did. Many companies, in fact, pay for their employees to get undergraduate, masters degrees or certificates through online study, because they want to save money and allow the student to keep working while he or she goes to school”. 

There are so many avenues to learn from, just be sure to choose those that really work for you and your employees.  Staying up to date on what others are doing through blogs, learning new techniques through webinars and attending at least one conference or convention a year works for me.  I choose blogs and webinars that won’t cost a cent and conferences or conventions with special trainings that do cost but are tax deductible.  Many of you will find that you won’t have to worry about cost because most companies have a policy in place that cover expenses; all you have to do is ask.  

Take advantage of the learning opportunities your company has to offer, you’ll become a more mobile employee and an even more Successful SUPERvisor!

Good Job. Bad Job.

One of the simplest things a supervisor can do to keep the team activated is recognize good work.  “Good Job” goes a long way, especially when recognition is public and employee to employee recognition is encouraged.  Recognition creates satisfaction in employees, motivating them to continue their “Good Job” streak, resulting in high-quality productivity. 

The toughest thing a supervisor must do to keep the team activated is recognize bad work.  Bad work, although commonly ignored by supervisors, is always recognized by the team.  Employees won’t stop for employee to employee “bad work” recognition but they will stop working to gossip about the poor performance and the fact that the supervisor has not addressed the problem.  Employees will then forget their motivation to continue their “Good Job” streak causing the quality in production to drop. 

 Last year Towers Watson conducted a Global Workforce Study that revealed 61% of employees questioned how well their managers dealt with poor performers.  An issue that even our federal workforce is weighed down by, Patricia Niehaus, national president of the Federal Managers Association, put it in perspective for me when she took the blame from the managers and laid it on the lack of training on tools available to deal with poor performers.  "It's not that managers are timid or willfully ignoring their responsibilities," Niehaus said in a statement to Government Executive, “but managers must know these avenues exist to utilize them." 

Wow! 

Have you ever been trained on how to handle poor performance or have you been shown the tools and resources your company offers to do so?  If your answer is yes: Where do you work?!  I’ve had to deal on my own and through trial and error; here are 3 steps that work for me:

1. Appraise:  Find value in the Job poorly done (at least two strengths).  Identify the cause and effect of the poor work performance.
2. Share:  Communicate with the poor performer.  Ask him/her to evaluate the work before sharing your evaluation.  It’s important not to make the employee feel like he/she is in the hot seat.  Remember, this is an opportunity to transform an employee into a better producer and not the time to make someone feel as though they've done something wrong.  You can use the following type of statements do so:

The invitation:

I’d like to get your opinion on something

Vs. 

I need to talk to you about your poor work performance

Meeting Opener:

I just want you to know that your ability to [insert strength 1] and [insert strength 2] does not go unnoticed.  I was hoping you might have some ideas to improve our department…”

Vs.

You’re doing a bad job.

Listen:

How can the improvements the employee mentions positively affect the poor work performance. 

Repeat: 

So what you’re saying is…

Vs. 

I know.

Evaluate Performance:  

I’ve noticed that some seem to be struggling with…

In fact, how would you rate your work on the subject?

Agreed.  I have also noticed…(include evaluation points not yet mentioned)

Do you think that your suggestions may help improve this struggle? 

What else can we do to make you better at it? 

Cause and Effect:

Did you know that you are such an important player to this company that when your performance drops, it actually costs the company…

The fact that you were able to provide solutions for our weakness will have a positive impact on the entire company. 

Recognize:

 Thank you for being such a valuable employee. 

     3.  Remark: After you share make sure you send out a thank you note that documents the need for improvement.  Email is better for documentation but if your employees do not have email, write a thank you card and make a copy for the file:

Thanks for taking the time to share your suggestions.  As I said yesterday I really appreciate your ability to [insert strength 1] and [insert strength 2].  I look forward to seeing the improvements we talked about specifically in your performance regarding X.  Let’s reconnect next week to talk about your progress.

This may seem like a whole lot but once you get in the habit of coaching your employees to be better at what they do, you’ll get it down to a 5 or 10 minute talk.  

Hey Big Boss, look at me...

Look at Me

As important as it is to recognize our employees, it’s equally important for our career and moral that our success as supervisors or managers does not go unnoticed.  So what do you do when your accomplishments never make it beyond your direct report and you find yourself one person (or two or three…) away from Big Boss recognition? 
Here are a few ideas to get you noticed without looking obvious:

Create Opportunity
Come up with “Out of the Box” ideas that empower employees, promote productivity and result in profitability.  Once you get going, ask your direct supervisor, the Big Boss and other key players for input.  

For example, you could:

• Create training opportunities for your employees that get others talking
• Share industry articles by saying “thought you’d be interested in this” or “This can work for us, let’s get it going”…
• Invite the Big Boss to give a few words of recognition and encouragement to your team at a department meeting and take the opportunity to showcase department success at your leadership
• Volunteer to take part in high profile projects, trainings and committees that you normally would not take part in, even if it means putting in longer days at the office

Ring YOUR Bell

Share with others what you are doing to be successful at work and in life and invite them to be successful with you!
You'll stand out when you:

• Invite the Big Boss and other key players to participate with you at networking, philanthropy and community events and volunteer opportunities
• Email about recent failures and successes and ask key players (include the big boss) for comments, suggestions and room for improvement
• Share testimonials and thank you notes (whether they are about you, someone on your team or your department as a whole)  the way a bartender rings the bell after a tip
•  Sit next to the big boss any chance you get and tell on yourself

Work It
Prove that you are a thinker.
Strut your stuff by identifying key issues and come up with smart solutions:

• Show that you can grow with company change and assist others to do so as well  
• Tackle current events and economic conditions before they hit your business
• Train your team to think and problem solve on their own
• Acquire a sense of urgency and grace

We lose half of our brain power on distrust

4 Steps to Boosting Production On A 4 Day Work Week:

1.    5 Minute Huddle: 
Gather together to voice job expectations. 
Example, the expectation may be to produce as much as you do in a 5 day work week.
Ask your team how you could meet the expectations as a team and guide them to setting their own goals. 
Example, try asking “how can we do this?” and turn their feedback into goals. 
Let them know what victory looks like and ask them to set a consequence.
Example: If we succeed, then (you fill in blank); if we fail, then ( they fill in blank)

2.    Keep Score: 
Verbally recognize the value of the team’s performance by measuring production and visually allowing them to see if they are falling behind, on tract or exceeding expectations.  Try giving them an update at least 3 times a day (at the start, middle and end of the day).
Example: Wow, way to push through team, we’ve already accomplished (fill in the blank), only (fill in the blank) till we get (list reward). 

3.    Blow the Whistle:
Remind your team not to cut corners or ignore safety rules and regulations just because speed is increased.  If you see someone compromising their safety or the safety of others, speak up and remind the team that the unsafe practice will only slow the team down.  Give examples of injuries that have occurred and get them to commit to creating a safe and comfortable working environment for themselves and their team.  Remind them to take breaks and lunch when needed to avoid monotony and low energy levels. 

4.    Deliver the Trophy:
Congratulate your team and stick to your commitments by delivering what you promised if the goals are met and do so in a timely manner (the sooner the better).  If the reward is handed out instantly, employees will have an incentive to meeting goals the next time you have a short work week.  If the reward is given out late, employees will lose interested and overlook the fact that the reward was part of the plan. 

If the employees fail to meet the goal, stick to the consequence and hold the team accountable.  You could always set new goals and a new deadline and aim for the prize all over again. 

Go!

Way to go!

In our personal lives, we congratulate others to express joy in the success or good fortune of one another.  In business we should do the same for our colleagues and employees, especially after they have completed a project or task that we have delegated out to them; even more so when their hard work results in our success.  Congratulating your employees for a job well done will make your employees feel good about the work they did for you and hungry for more recognition resulting in satisfied and motivated employees.  What does this mean to you?  Production!  Every time you congratulate someone on a job well done, you are doing your job and driving production.  Here are a few Successful SUPERvisors techniques to recognize employees:

Personally:  Take the time for some face to face recognition by offering a hand shake, verbally recognize growth, congratulate on successes and thank employees for their hard work.  If you don’t have the time for a one on one, do it as you pass each other in the hall or next time you meet at the water cooler. 

Publically:  Let everyone in on your appreciation; in an environment where you are visible to the team, offer a high five, say good job, cheer your employee on, get loud – this stuff only takes seconds of your time.

Technically:  Email a thank you note (option to include upper management), leave a voicemail, hang a flyer, blurb about it in the company newsletter, post it on the company website, post a recommendation on linked-in…

Take Action:    Congratulate
Keep On: 

Follow Up
Delegate
Supercharge Employees
Interval Train
Encourage employees to start at the finish line
Setting the Pace.  Establish a speed and standard for production
Talking:  Communicate at all times; your job is to remind your team what they are working towards
Looking back at what you’ve done; evaluate your progress.
Being Proactive rather than reactive
Communicating the vision, state direction, involve and challenge the team to go for it!   
Acting out and aligning your values with your company values and those of your employees.   Walk the talk.
Delivering the VIP Treatment
Being the Expert Extraordinaire
Giving and continue to establish a good reputation
Copycatting the Successful SUPERvisors of your past
Telling yourself that you’re a Super SUPERvisor!
Believing; remember, you’ve made the conscious decision to lead.  

Don’t Forget to Follow Up

Out of sight, out of mind, right? Just because you’ve delegated the task to someone else, doesn’t mean you can completely forget about it.  Since you are the person ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the project, it’s important that you watch over the project and provide motivation, support and encouragement.  Following up creates accountability, therefore making yourself available in the following ways to ensures that the work will get done:

• Coach – A Successful Supervisor  trains, guides and motivates his/her team to perform
• Player – A Successful Supervisor takes part  in the game 
• Cheerleader – A Successful Supervisor enthusiastically encourages his/her team to perform and applauds them on the work completed

Go! Follow Up.

Take Action:    Follow Up

Keep On: 

Delegate
Supercharge Employees

Interval Train

 Encourage employees to start at the finish line
Setting the Pace.  Establish a speed and standard for production

Talking:  Communicate at all times; your job is to remind your team what they are working towards

Looking back at what you’ve done; evaluate your progress.

Being Proactive rather than reactive

Communicating the vision, state direction, involve and challenge the team to go for it!   

Acting out and aligning your values with your company values and those of your employees.   Walk the talk.

Delivering the VIP Treatment

Being the Expert Extraordinaire

Giving and continue to establish a good reputation

Copycatting the Successful SUPERvisors of your past

Telling yourself that you’re a Super SUPERvisor!
Believing; remember, you’ve made the conscious decision to lead.