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.  

Too Much To Do & Not Enough Time To Get It Done; When to Delegate

Do you often find yourself with little time to supervise employees and production due to a long list of tasks that need to be completed “yesterday”?  If so, you’re not alone; one of the most common aches & pains supervisors share is having “too much to do and not enough time in the work day to get it done”.  So, what do you do, leave before the work gets done or stay late and get it done?  Neither.  A successful supervisor looks at what needs to be done, delegates the list of tasks and supervises the work to ensure it gets done.  In fact a common trait Successful Supervisors share is knowing what and when to delegate and what and when to do it themselves.  Most determine their work load by asking themselves the following questions:

1.     Is this an acceptable task to delegate (one that is not mandatory I complete on my own)

2.     Who (besides me) on my team can get the job done?

3.     Am I committed to supporting and supervising the team member I assign to the task?

Answering yes to these three questions before making the decision to delegate is crucial!  You must acknowledge that the task does not have to be completed by you, recognize someone on your team with the skills and capabilities of completing the task and commit to taking full responsibility of the team member’s work through your support and supervision commitment.  Remember, delegating a task does not take your responsibility away from it. 

Answering no to the questions listed above means that assigning the task would violate policy and/or jeopardize your position within the company, there is absolutely no other member on your team with the skills and capabilities needed to complete the task and that you are not committed to fulfilling your job as a supervisor by overseeing and supporting your team member to complete the assignment. 

You’ll find that the more you delegate the more fulfilled your employees become, especially when you begin to task them with more important projects.  As the tasks you delegate are accomplished, you’ll begin to trust your employees more and allow them to grow as they take full ownership of their delegated responsibilities.  Delegating is a win, win situation for all!

Take Action:    Delegate

Keep On: 

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.  

Stay tuned for: What & When You Should Delegate...

The Secret to Successful SUPERvising: Delegating

Successful SUPERvisors set themselves apart with one very distinguishing attribute: the ability to delegate.  At some point in their career, they were able to let go of the excuses associated with not delegating and embrace the course of action required to effectively delegate tasks to employees.  The issue is never telling people what to do; instead it’s the unwillingness to share authority and responsibility, the resistance of putting complete trust in team members and the lack of motivation to commit to support the team member with the task.    A SUPERvisor puts a lot on the line when they delegate, but even more when they don’t.    Below is a 5 step course of action practiced by many SUPERvisors who delegate effectively:

1.   Decide to delegate
     Establish which tasks you will farm out
     Know how you will approach & assign the tasks to employees (in private, during dept. meeting, etcetera…)
     Remember to (on less crucial projects) allow employees to choose tasks they’d like to work on.
   
2. Select the right delegate
   Consider experience, skills, strengths and weaknesses; your goal is to set them up for success, not failure. 
   Get your team excited about the selection
   Make the delegate feel special  and make sure everyone can see what’s in it for them
   
   
3. Arrange a “business” meeting: 
   A meeting will make it official, create accountability and establish commitment
   Explain why they have been chosen to complete the task/ project
   Describe the task, the timeline and the outcome you are looking for (tie it in to the team’s ultimate goal)
   Answer any questions the employee may have
   Set expectations
   Give clear instructions on responsibility and authority
   Ask how they plan on getting the job done (provide guidance if they are off track)
   Set up a progress report time schedule and establish how you will communicate (in-person, email…)
   Inform them that you are available for questions and that you want to know about obstacles along the way
   
   
4. Build Trust
   Allow your delegate to head the task/project his/her way
   When questions or obstacles arise, guide your employee to a decision rather than making the decision yourself
   Be available for support even when you don’t have immediate time available by setting time for a later meeting
   Set routine times for progress report/check up meetings so that you know that your employee is working on the task at hand and so that your employee sees that you trust and believe they can get the job done
   
   
5. Accept, Respond and Recognize
   Review all work carefully
   Provide an evaluation and critique of work submitted, this includes complimenting the work and sending it back if it lacks something or if something needs to be modified. 
   When the work is acceptable, accept the work and recognize it amongst the team. 

As leaders, these Successful SUPERvisors know that the end results depend on them.  The course of action and time they take to guide and supervise their delegates set the task/project up for success or failure.  These leaders take full responsibility for the outcome and don’t forget that in the end, they are the ones ultimately responsible for production.  

Delegate it.

Del*e*gate

1.  give task to somebody else
                to give a task to somebody else with responsibility to act on your behalf

2.  give authority to somebody else
                to give somebody else the power to act, make decisions, or allocate resources on your behalf

As cliché as it sounds, managers have a tendency to forget to manage; supervisors, sometimes, forget to supervise.  What’s the number one cause for failing to do their job right?  Taking on more than they can handle; in other words, failing to delegate.  Often times, they lose sight of their most important duty, assigning tasks, responsibility and decision making power out to the team.  According to Mitch McCrimmon, managers who aren’t delegating rationalize that “it takes more time to delegate than do it myself, no one is competent enough or we can’t afford to get it wrong.”  The truth is, delegating leaves you with more time to work on more important tasks, gives your employees growth opportunities and builds confidence amongst team members.    

This week, notice how many times a day you actually delegate something out to your team.  Observe how you feel when you do it and how you rationalize it when you choose to do it yourselves.   Delegate one thing to an employee that you usually would take care of yourself.  

Remember, a SUPERvisor is:

a super advisor. A fantastic, terrific, excellent coach, mentor and/or work guide; a leader – YOU

Take Action:    Delegate

Keep On: 

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.  

13 Ways to Supercharge Employees Running on Low

As the driving force behind employees, a Successful SUPERvisor understands that in order to keep an engaged and alert team moving, they must implement creative management techniques, especially when the team is running on low.  Rather than using the old “Crack the Whip” mentality, more and more managers are turning towards energy activation techniques to recharge employees.  The idea is to revitalize employees throughout the day with energy boosting activities.  It takes some outside the box thinking but worth the effort when you discover how much energy you can supercharge your employees with during that 2:00 slump.  Below are a few techniques (others have applied to supercharge their teams) you could try:

1. Incorporate daily stretching  Connie Tyne, executive director of the Cooper Wellness Program explains that “45 minutes of sitting is all [the] body can take at one time without becoming fatigued".  Encouraging your employees to stretch for a few minutes every 45 minutes (or at least once a day) will keep them at Full Stretch.
2. Encourage walks     Research shows that as little as 20 minutes of exercise can boost energy for up to 12 hours!  Employees who take walks during their lunch break will increase the flow of blood carrying nutrients and oxygen to muscle tissues, resulting in more energy.  Katy Boeder, a Commercial Underwriter at Golden Eagle Insurance in San Diego shares that a “3 mile walk at lunch around SD harbor always perks [her] up for the afternoon”.  The President of Enerpro Incorporated in Goleta, Frank Bourbeau, not only uses his walk time to reenergize but to ponder solutions to his latest engineering projects.
3. Demonstrate deep breathing techniques  Often times employees will breath shallowly, allowing carbon dioxide to build up in their blood, making them drowsy.  If your sensing sleepy employees, consider taking a few minutes to walk them through 20 deep breaths (in through the nose, out through the mouth) to flush the carbon dioxide out and fill them with energizing oxygen.
4. Educate on energy pressure points  According to Chinese medicine, massaging your ears serves as a wake-up call for your other organs. Teach your employees to massage their whole ear when feeling drained in order to redirect energy up towards the head.  This creates an uplifting mood and does away with the energy that was dragging you down. 
5. Supply drinks  According to The Beverage Institute for Health & Wellness, “adequate hydration is important for proper functioning of [the] brain.   Mild dehydration– as little as a 1% to 2% loss in body weight due to fluid deficiency – can impair your ability to concentrate. And loss of more than 2% body weight due to dehydration can affect your brain’s processing”.  I once worked in a high paced environment that promoted energy drinks and frequently supplied their employees with Sugar Free Red Bulls and FRS Energy drinks.  Even water will help keep your employees focused and moving.    I’ve even gone as far as calling the Red Bull mini over to the office for free Red Bull samples.  Shoshannah Walker, General Agent for Colonial Life, keeps going with a triple late from Peet’s Coffee. 
6. Promote healthy snacks  Most employees begin to get hungry around 10am and according to Tara Gidus, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, promoting a healthy snack break  " keeps your metabolism revved up and is a great way to boost your energy".  Try powering your team up with apples, they are said to give off as much energy as a cup of coffee.   
7. Offer mints  You can expect employees to become more alert when chewing on mints because the sucking or chewing of a mint circulates a refreshing smell up through the nose and throat, “pepping” them up.   Alan Hirsch, M.D., neurological director at the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago explains that “the mint scent stimulates a nerve in your brain” and that is what makes you feel more alert.             "We call it flavor, but it's really smell," says Hirsch.
8. Play music A study found that employees wearing headphones while working are 10% more productive than those not rocking out.  If you all can’t decide on one station, encourage employees to wear headphones during their work day.    
9. Set daily goals   Faculty of the Harvard Medical School explains that motivation is an important aspect of energy and that setting goals motivates people…reaching goals is satisfying to people and “the greater your sense of well being, the higher your energy level is likely to be”.  They suggest focusing on goals that will stimulate and energize you (in this case your employees) instead of something that will feel more like a chore.  
10. Teach Zen Habits (changing into a fresh pair of socks will leave you refreshed) Encourage employees to recognize their low energy and do something about it… like changing their socks when they hit that lazy slump during the day.  According to Zen Habits, this practice is supposed to get them going again and leaves them feeling fresh.   
11. Say “thank you” Thank your employees out loud for a job well done.   Everyone like to know that their boss appreciated them!
12. Do something out of the ordinary  This always leaves us with renewed energy, whether it be our personal or professional lives.
13. Make it fun  Incorporate interactive gaming such as foosball or the Wii in an effort to encourage employees to take breaks that get them moving and eliminate monotony.  Employees have reported that the friendly interaction not only allows them to build working relationships with one another but leaves them with a clear mind and stress relived body; reenergized.  One employee on the Intuit Labs Blog even stated that after a quick game of Guitar Hero, his fingers are able to move faster when he types while another claims that his problem solving ability increases.
    
    

Take Action:    Supercharge Employees

Keep On: 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 t

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

being Proactive rather than reactive

communicate 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