Ember Carriers Blog | From Possibility to Results

The Ultimate Team Player

November 12th, 2012

Mary Hladio

What does it really mean to be a team player? I hear this a lot with both big and small companies alike. It would be nice if there was a short fill-in-the-blank answer we could give here, but it’s not that easy.

Being the Ultimate Team Player

Historically, the phrase “team player” has been used as a descriptor by a lot of people in a variety of instances. When someone disagrees with us in a meeting, or we don’t like what they say, we dismiss them by saying, “they’re not a team player.” When someone says something that doesn’t align with the company culture, we conveniently state, “they’re not being a team player.” The word has baggage in the business world and a murky definition in the workplace. It’s no wonder “team play” is highly valued according to workplace surveys, but far less seen and experienced. And everyone thinks they are a “team player.” But how do you know if you/they really are?

According to research, the ultimate team player has certain characteristics that set them apart and make it easy (at least easier) to know who they are when you see them.

Here are some key questions that distinguish a great team player:

1. Do you make the people around you better?

2. Do others offer better ideas because of your questions?

3. Do others work more passionately because they’re around you?

4. Do others pay attention more when you are in the room?

5. Are others more engaged because they’re on a project with you?

Here are 12 characteristics of a great team player that feed into the five questions above:

1. Has “We”, then “Me” mindset; works with a team first approach without losing sight of his individual talent, confidence and contribution.

2. Devoted to progress; committed to a cause or purpose beyond themselves.

3. Speaks their mind boldly and diplomatically.

4. Listens to feedback carefully and anxiously, especially when it’s difficult to hear.

5. Constructively discontent; not pessimistic, but not relaxed about status-quo.

6. Inclusive; loves diversity and talent, especially those with talents and history different than theirs.

7. Insists on debate, and debates ideas effectively; doesn’t care who has the best idea, as long as the best idea wins; doesn’t take things personally.

8. Open minded; not change or new idea resistant.

9. Doesn’t allow the early warning signs of poor communication and teamwork (defensiveness, showcasing, excessive competition, seeking acceptance) undermine team dynamics and individual talent.

10. Sees people as equals, not as superiors and subordinates. Only in accountability and performance are those hierarchical relationships visible.

11. People trust your intentions; people know where you’re coming from when you challenge ideas, share new ideas, etc.

12. Desire to make a difference, not just “do your job.” There is a clear performance difference between “job-holders” and difference-makers.

Being a good team player isn’t always easy. Teams are usually created to solve difficult problems, and they often have tight deadlines and strict budgets. But this can be your chance to shine. Look at teamwork as not only a challenge, but a great opportunity.

Help your team by using your strengths, clearly understanding your role, and staying flexible and reliable until the project is completed. Be positive, and help others as much as you can. By being cooperative and willing to work hard, you’ll make a good impression on everyone – including your boss.

Want someone who’s only role is to support you achieving success? If you would like to know more about our team player or team performance workshops, please call a senior consultant with Ember Carriers at (513) 984-9333 for a complimentary consultation to discuss your company’s needs.

Web: www.embercarriers.com|Twitter: www.twitter.com/embercarriers|LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mhladio

Source: Marcum Smith LLC

3 Simple Ways to Improve EBITDA

November 5th, 2012

Mary Hladio

In 2012, too many organizations will throw money down the toilet. Again. How?

Improve Your Bottom Line

their leaders believe that disengaged employees are few and far between
managers get too busy to use even the simplest practices to engage people
no one measures bleeding cash when top performers go to the competition, or loyal employees glaze-over

In Dr. Neil Witmer’s recent book, I Get It!, he illustrates the importance of simple fundamentals. Even talented leaders become preoccupied and fail to do first-things-first. The work At Witmer & Associates with employee engagement shows significant EBITDA potential from rooting out pockets of alienated employees, clumsy managers and preoccupied leaders. Many organizations have shown a 6- to 7-figure financial impact by improving engagement.

Although there are dozens of best practices to improve engagement, three of them consistently float to the top of the list as the simplest and most fundamental:

1. Over-communicate—Whether you are CEO or supervisor, you must be a “broken record” for strategy, priorities and reasons for decisions. Employees are not stupid, but they need constant reinforcement. Don’t assume that if you say something once or put it in the newsletter that people will get it, or remember it. Even a well-designed strategy deployment system can be under-communicated. Sadly, data shows that 20% of employees mistakenly believe that the senior team is incompetent, simply because they don’t communicate enough.

2. Involve people in process—Whether it be LEAN, Kaizen or other methods, you can ”light up” teams of employees by involving them. Some organizations use Kaizen as an engagement strategy, not just a process strategy. Of course one benefit is efficiency and cost savings. Another benefit is a measurable performance gain from employees who go the extra mile, because they wanna!

3. Encourage confrontation—It’s been said that 85% of people on the planet are conflict-avoidant. Managers dodge feedback…peers delay difficult conversations…people cover their asses. Although conflict training teaches technique, training is not enough. People respond even better when their manager encourages confrontation. Skilled managers invite apprehensive people behind closed doors for straight-talk. They ask pregnant questions in staff meetings, showing that personal motives are less important than quality, delivery, financial performance and customer satisfaction.

These three practices are simple. They improve EBITDA. And they make this game of business a whole lot more fun!

If you would like more information on the bottomline for your company, contact a senior consultant with Ember Carriers at (513) 984-9333 for a complimentary consultation to discuss your company’s needs.

Web: www.embercarriers.com|Twitter: www.twitter.com/embercarriers|LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mhladio

Source: Neil Witmer, Pinpoint Performance Blog, Witmer & Associates

Effective Delegation for Leaders

October 29th, 2012

Mary Hladio

Are you doing the work of an entire team because you have a hard time delegating? Most leaders in small businesses find delegating takes a lot of effort, even painful. Effort that is worth expending because everyone’s success, the executive, team, and organization’s, depends on it. What can make the effort successful?

Learn the art of delegation

Here’s a scenario: You need a financial report illustrating the fiscal health of your department over the last 6 months. You could generate the report yourself but a few of your team members could also complete the project.

Where do you start? Have a conversation to clearly define what you need and when you need it. Talking through the project provides you and your staff member an opportunity to uncover the details and create a roadmap.

Beware … of a command and control approach – telling an individual what to do, getting the “I understand” head nod, and then dismissing the person to do what you’ve asked.

Next, set up a schedule for monitoring progress and then follow through. It is great news if things are moving forward as needed. If things are not going well you have the opportunity to support your employee to get the project back on track. Let me repeat … support your employee to get the project back on track … not take over completing the work.

Ask questions to get to the root of the situation. Some possible reasons things aren’t going well include

Additional detail or clarity is needed
Additional resources are needed
Competing priorities exist

Notice that “your staff members are incompetent, lazy, saboteurs” is not on the list!

You may go through several cycles on the path to project completion – stick with it. Delegating frees up time for you to focus on strategic issues, communicates that you trust, respect and value the people working for you, and develops tomorrow’s executive leaders.

Effective delegating does take practice. Learn to be the guiding hand that supports others to achieve superior business results.

If you would like more information on to be more efficient and effective for your company, contact a senior consultant with Ember Carriers at (513) 984-9333 for a complimentary consultation to discuss your company’s needs.

Web: www.embercarriers.com|Twitter: www.twitter.com/embercarriers|LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mhladio

Do you feel you are following your dream?‏

October 22nd, 2012

Mary Hladio

A man lay on his bed at the end of his life waiting to die. His dream came to pay his last respects and bid farewell to the man who had never used it.

Don’t let your dreams die!

As it entered the room the man looked down in shame.

“Why did you not realise me?” the dream asked.
“Because I was afraid,” the man said.
“Afraid of what,” said the dream.
“I was afraid I would fail.”

“But haven’t you failed by not attempting to use me?”.
“Yes I did, but I always thought there would be tomorrow.”

“You Fool!” said the dream” Did it never occur to you that there was only ever today? the moment that you are in right now?

Do you think that now that death is here that you can put it off until tomorrow?”.
“No”. said the man, a tear gently rolling down his cheek.

The dream was softer now, because it knew that there were two types of pain,
the pain of discipline and the pain of regret, and while discipline weighs ounces, regret weighs pounds.

Then the dream leant forward to gently wipe away the tear and said, “You need only have taken the first step and I would have taken one to meet you, for the only thing that ever separated us was the belief in your mind that you couldn’t have me”.

Then they said goodbye and they both died.

Don’t let you Dream die!

If you are looking for someone to hold you accountable? Or want someone who’s only role is to support you achieving success? If you would like to know more about re-igniting your passion for your business, please call a senior consultant with Ember Carriers at (513) 984-9333 for a complimentary consultation to discuss your company’s needs.

Web: www.embercarriers.com|Twitter: www.twitter.com/embercarriers|LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mhladio

Are 360° Feedback Surveys Relevant Anymore?

October 15th, 2012

jgrip

Ever change lanes only to find another car right there? Blind-spot mirrors are helpful, if we pay attention. I look in the mirror every day when combing my hair. But it wasn’t until about six months ago, when my granddaughter took a picture of me from behind, that I realized I was developing a real bald spot. Although an emerging bald spot is no big deal – I gave up my modeling career about 40 years ago – trying to get two automobiles to occupy the same space can be dangerous!

Feedback Survey Form

Mirrors don’t lie, but they aren’t very good at telling the whole truth. They don’t tell us what people are saying about us “behind our backs.” By focusing in front of ourselves, we are likely to see what we want to see, and hear what we want to hear.

We see what we want to see

Unfortunately, the higher we rise in an organization, the more likely it is that our perception will be distorted or incomplete. The more power we have or we project, the less likely we are to get accurate feedback from others. What we get, instead, is a reflection of how we want to see ourselves. We all want to see ourselves as successful, as complete.

To survive in our busy world we must be selective in what we pay attention to. We must filter out more than 98% of the sights and sounds coming at us. We do this unconsciously. Often, we unconsciously ignore or distort the information that is contrary to how we want to see ourselves. When critical input comes directly from others, we too often dismiss the source as uninformed. The blind spots we protect most fiercely are often those most likely to kill our careers!

Disconnect!

In 360° feedback surveys, “blind spots” are the biggest gaps between self-ratings and the ratings of others. When I study blind spots on the more than 20,000 surveys we’ve done, two huge disconnects stand out. The first is delegation, and the second is measuring performance. Both are critical to our advancement as managers of people. They go hand-in-hand. Managers who don’t effectively track performance won’t be very comfortable delegating, since they won’t have an objective means of holding people accountable. Conversely, a manager who doesn’t delegate won’t need to measure performance results. Failing to learn to delegate effectively will relegate us to low-level supervision for the rest of our careers!

Why is there such a disconnect? Why would we think we are delegating enough and managing to results when everyone around us disagrees? Why do we ignore hints that we aren’t giving them enough to do? And can we know what they say behind our backs, where the mirror can’t see?

Seeing behind your back

In my experience coaching thousands of leaders, it is clear that those of you who seek out honest feedback and take action to improve – even if you can’t see the need directly – rise more quickly and go farther in your careers. You trust others to see you better than you see yourself! One effective way to get honest input is through 360° feedback. Using a tool such as Pinpoint Performance™ allows us to hear what people are saying (or thinking) about us behind our backs, especially when they are unwilling to say it to our face. It is easy and it is inexpensive. The benefits? Just ask people who’ve had 360° feedback – or look at the back of my head!

If you would like more information conducting better 360° surveys for your company, contact a senior consultant with Ember Carriers at (513) 984-9333 for a complimentary consultation to discuss your company’s needs.

Web: www.embercarriers.com|Twitter: www.twitter.com/embercarriers|LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mhladio

Source: Jeff Grip, Pinpoint Performance Blog, Witmer & Associates

Putting the Excellence in Operations

October 8th, 2012

Mary Hladio

Managers are able to continuously enhance an organization’s decision, investment, asset performance, service delivery, and human resources capabilities through operational excellence, writes BTM Corp.’s Diana Mirakaj. Operational excellence has been primarily affiliated with the optimization of production- and manufacturing-related business processes, and measuring success was mainly based on an ability to meet customer demand, improve quality, and boost efficiency and productivity.

Putting the Excellence into Operations

Operationally excellent organizations have the processes and structures to facilitate the required visibility, control, tools, and management practices to propel greater operational efficacy and efficiency, according to Mirakaj. Such organizations aggressively cultivate their capability to customize business processes, architectures, standards, alliances, and human resources to improve value for customers on a continuous basis.

“Enterprises that achieve operational excellence establish formal definitions and standards for their business processes, link them with their strategic imperatives, and empower individuals to act in an independent but coordinated fashion to improve the work within their span of authority,” Mirakaj notes. “Being operationally excellent requires a focus on management capabilities to develop and propagate standards, to coordinate decision making, to optimize service delivery, and to manage the workforce.”

Mirakaj stresses that there needs to be institutionalization of converged management, which is organized around three core characteristics—standardized work, measured performance, and local execution. “These … characteristics provide the mechanisms through which an enterprise is able to monitor performance and make adjustments to maintain optimal productivity and capitalization on agility and innovation activities,” she writes.

Need help putting the excellence into your operations contact a senior consultant with Ember Carriers at (513) 984-9333 for a 30-minute complimentary consultation to discuss your company’s future.

Baseline (03/22/12) Mirakaj, Diana

Web: www.embercarriers.com|Twitter: www.twitter.com/embercarriers|LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mhladio