Equipping Your People for Success
Equipping Your People for Success
This is the leader's most important task. Why? First, everything rises and falls on leadership. Second, those closest to you will determine the level of your personal success and that of your business. And third, a business’ growth potential is only as good as its people potential.
We all know that good people are hard to find. You can always find a place for another winner on your team, because they'll pay their way and more. Ask two questions of every person you consider: "Can they?" reveals a person's ability; "Will they?" deals with attitude. Always give priority to those with great attitude. A person with the right attitude who merely lacks skills can be trained. But a person with all the skills in the world and a questionable attitude might never take you where you want to go.
Removing poor performers from a business is as important as hiring great performers. Why? A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Poor performers are unable to pay their way, because they are in the wrong place. Letting people go is one of the hardest parts of leadership. However it is ultimately better for your business and better for that person as well. It helps to know that by releasing them, they are much more likely to find a place where they can make a meaningful contribution, and in the process, feel good about themselves again.
2. Be clear what needs to be done.
Excellence can only be achieved with clear expectations. If you want to help your team reach optimal performance, they need more from you than a list of specific tasks. They need to know how to add value to the company and have the opportunity to continually improve their personal performance. It is all about the implementation of performance systems.
Develop job measurements or performance indicators that encourage improvement. Set achievable goals with your team and celebrate when they achieve them (One Minute Management!). Ensure early on that they get some wins under their belts. Continually communicate the need for continual communication. Invite constructive feedback and ensure they have the opportunity to share their insights and concerns in an open and engaging environment.
3. Let them do what needs to be done.
If you don't trust your team enough to let them go, one of two things is wrong. Either you violated rule number one and didn't hire a winner, or you have a problem with control. Either way, you are severely limiting what that person could do for you, with you, for the team and for the business.
Give people job ownership. Make it clear who is responsible for what. Don't ever put someone in the position of having authority without responsibility. Get the decision-making process as close to the work as possible. Distribute authority, avoid micro-managing, and focus on the future.
By allowing people to give their lives to things that matter and create value, you'll empower them. Empowered people feel the freedom to be creative, make decisions, and act without waiting on their leader. If you pick winners and give them this gift, you'll achieve things you never dreamed were possible in your business – and in your life!
Equipping Your People for Success - To learn more about this author, visit Geoff Flemming's Website.
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1. Find and keep the best people.
This is the leader's most important task. Why? First, everything rises and falls on leadership. Second, those closest to you will determine the level of your personal success and that of your business. And third, a business’ growth potential is only as good as its people potential.
We all know that good people are hard to find. You can always find a place for another winner on your team, because they'll pay their way and more. Ask two questions of every person you consider: "Can they?" reveals a person's ability; "Will they?" deals with attitude. Always give priority to those with great attitude. A person with the right attitude who merely lacks skills can be trained. But a person with all the skills in the world and a questionable attitude might never take you where you want to go.
Removing poor performers from a business is as important as hiring great performers. Why? A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Poor performers are unable to pay their way, because they are in the wrong place. Letting people go is one of the hardest parts of leadership. However it is ultimately better for your business and better for that person as well. It helps to know that by releasing them, they are much more likely to find a place where they can make a meaningful contribution, and in the process, feel good about themselves again.
2. Be clear what needs to be done.
Excellence can only be achieved with clear expectations. If you want to help your team reach optimal performance, they need more from you than a list of specific tasks. They need to know how to add value to the company and have the opportunity to continually improve their personal performance. It is all about the implementation of performance systems.
Develop job measurements or performance indicators that encourage improvement. Set achievable goals with your team and celebrate when they achieve them (One Minute Management!). Ensure early on that they get some wins under their belts. Continually communicate the need for continual communication. Invite constructive feedback and ensure they have the opportunity to share their insights and concerns in an open and engaging environment.
3. Let them do what needs to be done.
If you don't trust your team enough to let them go, one of two things is wrong. Either you violated rule number one and didn't hire a winner, or you have a problem with control. Either way, you are severely limiting what that person could do for you, with you, for the team and for the business.
Give people job ownership. Make it clear who is responsible for what. Don't ever put someone in the position of having authority without responsibility. Get the decision-making process as close to the work as possible. Distribute authority, avoid micro-managing, and focus on the future.
By allowing people to give their lives to things that matter and create value, you'll empower them. Empowered people feel the freedom to be creative, make decisions, and act without waiting on their leader. If you pick winners and give them this gift, you'll achieve things you never dreamed were possible in your business – and in your life!
Equipping Your People for Success - To learn more about this author, visit Geoff Flemming's Website.
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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