Weekly Posts and Insights
The “I’ve got an idea for you” Worksheets
One of the most common phrases you’ll hear as a leader in a chamber or association is, “you know what you should do…” or “I’ve got an idea for you…” or if your chamber or association is well-known for throwing events, “here’s an event you should do for the community…” Next time you hear that, try out two of these free templates!
How to keep from losing good young leaders at your organization
raditionally, corporations have long talked about the leadership ladder - each rung of the proverbial ladder equaling a new role, title, pay, and/or leadership level. Unfortunately, that’s quite an outdated model and just doesn’t work for the new worker.
When we look at the Leadership Growth Lattice, it functions like the name. Instead of straight up, its sprawls out like a garden lattice. It assists in creating a “holistic” employee with multiple dimensions of growth, service and leadership.
Imagine a lattice and the buckets you may want an employee to think about as they grow within your organization.
The Power of Building Good Habits
As leaders there's always one behavior or another we're trying to shape or change in others. What about the chronic latecomer, the constant complainer and the time management challenged? We attempt to give constructive feedback, help them set goals or focus on teamwork and continuous improvement. Sometimes it clicks; sometimes it doesn’t. Do you know how much our habits actually impact our behavior choices (which is either what you’re trying to stop in others or grow in others), or how habits can by-pass our decision-making function?
What Am I Looking For When I Build My Next Workplace Team?
Teaming can be this big word, especially if you’re new at it. Really, it's just a group of people getting together working a problem, right? As a new leader you may be called upon to form your next team, perhaps your first one?! Here is where I would start if I were to build a very adaptable, high level, results-oriented team:
How do I make it so my meetings aren't a waste of time?
I know I’ve written about this recently, but it's an important topic. Meetings are the game field. Meetings decide well...decisions! And who wins! And how the team functions! Did you know: between 35-50% of meeting time is seen as wasted, most meetings start 8-12 minutes late, 75% say agendas are not prepared and distributed in advance, less than 30% of decisions in meetings are recorded, and over 40% of people don’t know the purpose of the meeting they’re attending.
Using the CAMP Method of Motivation to Motivate and Retain Your Staff
This past week, wearing my other hat as chamber director for southwestern Vermont, I had the pleasure to present at the Vermont Tourism Summit in Burlington, Vermont. My topic was on “Building Your Brand With Local Talent.” Now, because of my job and my background, the presentation was heavy on marketing tactics. However, I was able to weave in some of my other passion - motivating teams.
Right, makes sense! With all the strategy and tools to get the marketing job done, we still have the fundamental challenge of human beings leading the charge. We still need to make sure our staff, teammates or freelancers are happy. This is where I often weaved in our CAMP Method of Motivation.
I’m losing focus on my goals a quarter of the way through the year! How do I get it back?
Right around this time of year, I find that my immune system just gives out. I had tried my hardest, forced as much sun-soaked vitamin D in our northeast summers, popped the multitude of good-for-you vitamins, washed my hands every time I could, alas I tend to get a cold during March or April. I think this New England body just runs out of reserves.
Equally, it can seem that way at work, at the gym, working on projects. We enter the new year with such gusto, however when we get past the first quarter of the year, the tyranny of the urgent can take our eyes off of the goal. We lose focus.
5 Reasons Why Getting a Workplace Coach or Mentor is Your Next Big Move
Results of a study conducted by Manchester, Inc. of 100 leaders primarily from Fortune 100 companies found that among the benefits that organizations received from providing coaching to leaders were improvements in productivity (reported by 53% of leaders), quality (48%), and organizational strength (48%). Among the benefits to leaders who received coaching were improved working relationships with direct reports (reported by 77% of leaders), working relationships with immediate supervisors (71%), teamwork (67%).
Understanding Your Employees Competency and Commitment Levels Can Improve Behavior and Motivation
There was a direct connection between a person’s commitment level and his/her confidence in his/her own ability to do his/her job. This is typically identified as competency.
Ken Blanchard speaks about Competence and Commitment (C&C) in his discussion around situational leadership; however, what is rarely discussed is the relationship between the two and the belief that competency is a driving factor for commitment. Blanchard uses these two indicators to help identify an employee’s level of development, which is determined by the level of competency he/she has coupled with his/her level of commitment to the job or organization.
Developing Best Business Practices During Chaotic Times.
How do we find our way out of this tunnel of uncertainty and change, or at the very least, learn how to ride the rollercoaster while still continuing to develop business? As Drucker points out, albeit simplistically, if you want to predict what’s ahead, your best bet is to create it. How do we go about creating a model that can handle the chaos of today, react when necessary, and attack with precision and purpose? Here are some thoughts…